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MUtftibz educational jHonograp^js 

EDITED BY HENRY SUZZALLO 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, SEATTLE 



THE SELECTION OF 
TEXTBOOKS 

BY 

Cl K. MAXWELL 

DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION 

UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING 

AUTHOR, THE OBSERVATION OF TEACHING 




HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • SAN FRANCISCO 






5 \ " 



COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY C. R. MAXWELL 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



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Wyt &itocrfittie fhreaa 

CAMBRIDGE • MASSACHUSETTS 

U • S • A 

DEC 12 1921 

©CI.A653063 






CONTENTS 



Editor's Introduction v 

Preface ix 

I. The Textbook a Necessary Tool in Teach- 
ing i 

II. The Common Basis for Selection of 

Texts 14 

III. Current Methods of Selecting Textbooks 24 

IV. Method and Term of Adoption as a Fac- 
tor 34 

V. Free Textbooks versus Individual Owner- 
ship as a Factor 45 

VI. Justifiable Standards for Selection . . 57 

VII. Outline Aids for judging all Texts ... 78 

VEIL Special Outlines for evaluating Texts in 

Different Subjects 84 

1. Reading 86 

2. Arithmetic 91 

3. Language 96 

4. Spelling 100 

5. Geography 105 

iii 



CONTENTS 

6. History 109 

7. Civics 112 

8. Drawing 115 

9. Music 118 

10. Penmanship 120 

11. Algebra . 124 

12. Geometry 127 

13. Science 129 

14. Foreign Languages 132 

Outline 136 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

Given a reliable system of school administration, 
one which permits and aids the operation of the 
schools for the benefit of the children and society, 
the two factors which have the most direct influ- 
ence upon the success of teaching in the average 
classroom are (i) the professional training of the 
teachers employed, and (2) the effectiveness of 
the textbooks used by the pupils. 

The importance of well-trained teachers does 
not need to be argued. It has never required 
argument. But the ways and means by which 
prospective teachers of large ability are to be re- 
cruited by the normal schools, trained after they 
have entered upon their courses, appointed to 
positions which they are specially qualified to 
fill, and promoted for meritorious service, are 
matters to which the public mind should be di- 
rected continuously. The fact is that America 
has not provided an adequate corps of highly 
trained teachers for the education of its children. 
Every citizen in America recognizes the need, but 
public support has not operated to meet the ne- 
cessity with satisfactory results. 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

The importance of excellent textbooks does 
need argument. The public does not understand 
either the function or the great influence of the 
textbook. The public sees little beyond the 
financial problems involved in the adoption of 
texts. When public opinion expresses itself on 
the matter of textbooks for the schools it does so 
chiefly in an effort to reduce the cost of textbooks 
by one legislative device or another. The cheap- 
est text is usually the best to the layman. He 
favors long-period adoptions, uniformity of adop- 
tions over wide political units, the adoption of a 
single rather than several texts, free textbooks, 
and is readily tempted by State publication and 
local authorship without stopping to consider the 
disadvantages. The average citizen focuses his 
attention on secondary considerations in text- 
book adoptions to the point of harmful interfer- 
ence with the educational effectiveness of schools. 
It is the business of the professional leaders who 
understand the situation to create in the public 
mind that appreciation of the importance of the 
textbook which will put the prime responsibility 
for textbook choices in the hands of professional 
educators competent to deal with the subject. 
Just so long as the present condition persists, 
textbook publishers will tend to give more heed 
vi 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

to the secondary financial considerations in the 
minds of laymen than to the primary educational 
considerations in the minds of teachers. And 
lay members of boards of education have in the 
past been more influential in this matter than 
school supervisors. 

Our inadequate teaching staff for America in- 
creases the importance of the textbook in school 
life, for the more poorly equipped the teacher is 
the more he or she is dependent on the text- 
book for guidance in scholarship and method of 
instruction. 

Indeed, we have in recent years come to recog- 
nize the truth that one of the best methods of 
introducing educational reforms is to give new 
principles and methods that incorporation which 
the textbook permits and requires. Abstract 
lectures and books on the art of teaching render 
an important service, but they reach only a few 
of the best teachers. When these pedagogical 
truths are given a concrete and usable organiza- 
tion in a textbook the whole body of teachers is 
reached and influenced. 

In consequence the right selection of texts is 

a matter of great consequence for American 

schools. Textbook adoptions exercise strategic 

power for good and evil in education. The func- 

vii 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

tion of their choice cannot be left in our present 
reckless, haphazard, and inefficient state. Some- 
thing must be done. For this reason it is a 
pleasure to present to the profession, to board 
members, and to the public generally, a small 
handbook which will aid those concerned in ac- 
quiring a proper point of view and method for 
the discharge of one of our largest educational 
responsibilities. 



PREFACE 

Textbooks are indispensable tools in school. 
They are considered by many people as second to 
the teacher in importance. Millions of copies 
are purchased by the public every year. Practi- 
cally all the great publishing companies have de- 
partments devoted to the publication of school- 
books, and several large publishing houses devote 
their entire attention to this field. Few ques- 
tions of public school administration have se- 
cured more space in the daily press than has the 
selection of textbooks. Few questions of school 
administration have secured less scientific atten- 
tion by professional educators than has this topic. 
It has been considered a political and financial 
problem rather than an educational one. This 
attitude has unduly emphasized the secondary 
features of the problem. It has caused many 
poor selections. 

The author has felt for several years that text- 
books should be selected by competent persons 
after a careful examination of available material. 
Hit-and-miss methods are no longer tolerated in 
efficient business management. We should not 
ix 



PREFACE 

accept a more complacent attitude toward educa- 
tion. There are indications that both the public 
and school executives are beginning to appreci- 
ate the need of scientific methods applied to all 
phases of the educational problem. Haphazard 
choice of schoolbooks by persons not in touch 
with the actual school situation must be dis- 
carded. An intelligent examination by persons 
directly responsible for results in the schools 
should be the policy of the future. The author 
of this monograph will feel repaid for his labor if 
it helps to further this movement. 

The author wishes to acknowledge the assist- 
ance of many colleagues who have criticized the 
outlines. He is especially indebted to Dr. W. W. 
Theisen, Supervisor of Educational Measure- 
ments, Wisconsin State Department of Public 
Instruction, whose suggestions were particularly 
valuable. 

C. R. M. 

Laramie, Wyoming 



THE SELECTION OF 
TEXTBOOKS 

I 

THE TEXTBOOK A NECESSARY TOOL IN 
TEACHING 

The textbook is an accepted tool in teaching. It 
is impossible to think of the traditional school 
without thinking of a textbook. Most teachers 
would be as hopelessly lost without one as would 
a mariner without a compass. Dependence upon 
a book is not wholly desirable. It is in some de- 
gree a reflection upon the ability of the teacher. 
The teacher is supposed by laymen to have a 
mastery of the subjects he teaches. Should we 
grant that many teachers are forced to rely on 
a textbook because of inadequate knowledge, it 
would not account for the dependence of those 
with scholarly attainments. It will be our pur- 
pose to consider briefly the reasons why the text- 
book plays such an important part in school life. 
Books came into being when man reached a 
stage of development where he could realize the 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

need of the permanency of concepts for further 
progress. There has been slow progress from the 
clay tablets of the ancient nations to the artistic 
productions of our modern bookmakers. The 
books we have to-day are a comparatively mod- 
ern invention. The universal availability of 
books has increased by leaps and bounds in re- 
cent years, and it is scarcely too much to say that 
every crossroads has its library. Philanthro- 
pists of great means have felt that the endowment 
of a library is one of the best means of social 
amelioration. The great increase in the number 
of books in our country might imply an increased 
emphasis on the textbooks in the schools, but it 
has had, indeed, the opposite effect. The multi- 
plication of books has increased the dissemination 
of knowledge and it has given people a broader 
point of view. People who read widely are not 
content to accept the statement of one authority; 
consequently, the textbook does not have the 
prestige it once possessed. The increase in the 
number of books has developed a taste for good 
books, not only for books for the general reader, 
but for school texts in a like or even greater de- 
gree. It is frequently stated that there has been 
greater progress in the making of textbooks than 
in the making of other books. Dr. Winship has 



TEXTBOOK A NECESSARY TOOL 

said: "There has been no improvement in great 
works of fiction, in great poems, or in great es- 
says in half a century, but American schoolbooks 
have improved marvelously, almost miracu- 
lously. Nowhere in the world have they im- 
proved as in the United States. There is not 
a nation on earth in which the schoolbooks ap- 
proach even faintly those of America." * 

A few decades ago the textbook was held in 
reverence second only to the Bible. A multi- 
plicity of texts, together with a changed ideal of 
school procedure, has placed the center of grav- 
ity outside the authority of any particular book. 
Many textbooks have meant better books, a 
more extensive use, a more skillful use, and a 
more critical and independent attitude toward 
them. It has meant an extensive use, not an in- 
tensive study of one text, even though the author 
of such a text is an authority in his particular 
field. To meet the exigencies of everyday life it 
is necessary to take a broad and liberal point of 
view. It is only through seeing all points of view 
that one can be in a position to combat erroneous 
ideas. The use of many textbooks assists the 
student in getting a broad point of view, in criti- 
cally examining data and opinions, and in refus- 
1 A. E. Winship, Proceedings, N.E.A. 1915, p. 274. 
3 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

ing to make a judgment until all the evidence has 
been considered. 

The textbook is an aid in instruction because 
it is a convenient means for having at hand neces- 
sary data. It would be possible, and in many 
cases quite ideal, to have the sources of all mate- 
rial investigated by students who are pursuing a 
particular topic. From a practical point of view 
this is impossible especially for the immature, 
undeveloped student. His problem is to get 
command of essential subject-matter with the 
least possible expenditure of energy. The prob- 
lem of the conservation of energy in our genera- 
tion is important. There is such a wealth of 
experience to be assimilated, if the student is to 
become an efficient member of the social organ- 
ism, that time must not be wasted. The textbook 
serves this purpose, for it contains the supposedly 
pertinent material that must be mastered in order 
to appreciate the phase of experience represented 
by the text. Several representative texts on any 
subject contain practically all the usable availa- 
ble material in condensed form that one would 
find in a large library. Amplification of a text- 
book by the teacher with a judicious use of 
sources seems to meet the needs of the larger 
number of students. 



TEXTBOOK A NECESSARY TOOL 

The textbook is an aid in instruction because 
it presents a definite organization of material. 
The inexperienced teacher who approaches a sub- 
ject of study finds grave difficulty in organizing 
it in a logical way. Unless he has a complete 
mastery of the topic from the standpoint of in- 
struction, he fails to appreciate relative values; 
he fails to see the part which certain portions 
play in the development of the whole topic; he 
fails to outline the material so that the necessary 
subordinate points are grouped under large and 
proper headings. The organization of the ma- 
terial in the text will give him a cue for arranging 
his material in a development that will be pro- 
gressive. Most writers of textbooks will grant 
that the logical organization of material under 
any topic is not entirely sufficient for a teacher's 
needs. It is essential, however, for the teacher to 
know what this organization ought to be from 
the standpoint of the subject-matter itself. A 
well-organized text furnishes him with a ready- 
made point of view. 

The textbook is an aid because it furnishes the 
teacher a means of selecting pertinent subject- 
matter. Any phase of experience has many 
aspects. The emphasis given to one will depend 
upon the set of the mind of the individual analyz- 

5 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

ing it. The textbook represents the experience of 
persons who have given this particular subject 
careful consideration. Authors realize that a 
text cannot cover the entire field of knowledge 
because of its breadth. They choose the parts 
deemed by them essential to gain command of 
the specific field of knowledge treated by the 
textbook they have written. The text, if a de- 
sirable one, has had the chaff winnowed, and 
there remains the substantial portion of knowl- 
edge that is requisite for a command of the field. 

It was stated earlier in the discussion that it is 
impossible for teachers and students to seek out 
original sources owing to limits of time. The 
author has had time and opportunity to consult 
sources; he has selected the requisite material to 
develop important ideas, and he has made them 
available for other persons who wish to get com- 
mand of the field. It rarely means that a person 
will get a comprehensive and exhaustive treat- 
ment of a subject in a textbook, but the text should 
present a view whereby one may have adequate 
basis for elaboration. The topics, or the point 
of view of topics, and problems presented are the 
ones deemed by the author of most worth. 

An ideal social situation in school would mean 
that students are constantly working on prob- 
6 



TEXTBOOK A NECESSARY TOOL 

lems that arise from their own activities. Few 
people would claim that such an ideal is possible 
of realization. In such a scheme the textbook 
would have little place. The socialization of the 
school, however, does not mean the elimination 
of a textbook. It means rather a modification of 
its use. Teachers frequently fail to realize the 
intense concentration of the material in our text- 
books. Thus assignments cause mental indiges- 
tion which produces many fatalities. Students 
fed exclusively on a textbook diet become as dis- 
satisfied as boarders fed entirely on canned goods, 
but textbooks, when rightly used, furnish an ex- 
cellent means for presenting definite problems to 
students. The student who is assigned in history 
a topic on the compromises in the Federal Con- 
stitution has a definite task that requires consid- 
erable energy to solve his problem. The children 
in the seventh grade who have to work a page of 
problems on the application of percentage in 
profit and loss have a task that challenges their 
ability. There is a joy in the accomplishment of 
a definite task well done. The writer believes 
that children are happiest when they are using 
their energy in the solution of definite problems. 
The textbook is an aid to raising problems that 
supplement the pupil's own experiences. 

7 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

The textbook indicates the trend of current 
educational thought. Ideals in education are 
constantly changing. Modes of procedure con- 
sidered of major importance in one generation 
sink into insignificance in another. Change in a 
social situation necessitates a change in subject- 
matter and in methods of treatment. Condi- 
tions that have demanded emphasis upon one 
phase of material no longer exist, for other prob- 
lems have arisen on the horizon. The subject- 
matter in courses of study in the early years of 
the twentieth century is vastly different from the 
material we find in courses in the last decade of 
the nineteenth. Subjects which were considered 
necessary for the many are now demanded only 
by the few. The materials of education are be- 
ing scrutinized and analyzed more carefully to- 
day than ever before. We are rapidly approach- 
ing a stage when any subject, or portion of a 
study, must justify its worth before it finds a 
place in the curriculum. Economic necessity 
makes it impossible for a publisher to place on 
the market textbooks which are not in harmony 
with present-day ideals. If publishers wish to 
reform educational practices the financial situa- 
tion confronting them would make it inadvisable; 
consequently, they tend to be followers rather 
8 



TEXTBOOK A NECESSARY TOOL 

than leaders in the development of educational 
ideals. The textbooks indicate changes and the 
publishers have a large amount of influence 
which is frequently exercised in a judicious way, 
yet there are handicaps as noted by the following 
writer: 

Education, more and more utilitarian, is fighting 
to get upon a scientific basis, and the register of this 
change rests as much in the textbook as in the 
teacher. . . . Education to a large extent is in the 
hands of the publisher. The old order of books is 
passing — new types of texts are coming into use 
with the gradual evolution of new theories of instruc- 
tion and pedagogics. The publishers, on the whole, 
are adequately meeting this demand, for large sums 
alone are spent in finding texts which will have wide 
popular appeal. But there are many cases where 
the commercial expediency of getting rid of stock in 
hand — books which have been published, but have 
been surpassed — has stood in the way of advance- 
ment. 1 

The textbook must meet both the demands 
of the conservative and the progressive. The 
problem of the maker is to see that he is mod- 
ern enough in his treatment to appeal to per- 
sons who are not hidebound by traditions; he 

1 George Middleton, " The Textbook Game and Its Quarry,' ' 
The Bookman, vol. 33, p. 147. 

9 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

must also follow convention both in the selection 
and treatment of subject-matter in order not to 
antagonize the conservative. The attempt of 
the author of a textbook to satisfy both the radi- 
cal and the conservative is a great handicap in 
the selection of a book to meet specific needs. It 
possesses a modicum of virtue for the one who 
wishes to steer a middle course. When school 
officials select textbooks wholly on the basis of 
meeting needs, authors and publishers will not 
make the compromises that now occur con- 
stantly. 

The textbook presents a better basis for or- 
ganization than could be expected from the aver- 
age teacher. Authors of textbooks usually have 
a broad point of view. Frequently they have 
been students for many years in the particular 
field in which they are writing. They under- 
stand the development of the subject in its his- 
toric aspects; they understand the changes that 
have taken place in its evolution; and they un- 
derstand the place that the subject occupies in 
the general field of knowledge. The authors 
have considered carefully a desirable type of 
organization. They have organized material in 
accordance with their ideals of the purpose and 
development of the subject, and they have in 
10 



TEXTBOOK A NECESSARY TOOL 

most cases tested this organization in the class- 
room. Very frequently authors have asked the 
cooperation of other persons in testing the or- 
ganization of subject-matter before putting it in 
final form. 

An author's familiarity with the field of knowl- 
edge in which he is working tends to make him 
emphasize unduly its importance as a necessary 
portion of social experience. He sometimes in- 
troduces material that is interesting to him be- 
cause of his superior knowledge. He fails to 
realize that it will possess little value to the per- 
son who needs a knowledge of the fundamental 
factors. He fails to appreciate that the greatest 
value accruing from subject-matter is its applica- 
tion in everyday life. Merely because the au- 
thor is an authority in his field makes it no less 
necessary to scrutinize his organization, to note 
whether it represents a logical one; that is, the 
organization of the subject within itself without 
an ulterior purpose, or whether it is organized in 
accordance with the needs of the persons for 
whom it is prepared. The teacher will be in- 
fluenced in his teaching by the organization of 
his basic text. The teacher is not a specialist. 
Rarely does he have a knowledge of the develop- 
ment of the subject he teaches; rarely does he 
ii 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

understand its relation to the other subjects, and 
rarely does he appreciate its significance. As a 
student he has met so many different subjects in 
his short period of training that he is not suffi- 
ciently oriented to organize material to be of 
most value to those he is teaching. The obliga- 
tion rests on him, nevertheless, to adapt subject- 
matter to the needs of his classes. The adjust- 
ment must rest with the teacher, but it is too 
much to expect him to be responsible for the 
complete organization. 

Economy of time is a necessary condition in 
school procedure. The textbook is an aid in this 
direction. It would be possible for a teacher of 
good ability, with a large amount of initiative, 
with energy and a great capacity for work, to 
secure all essential data that a given class might 
use in pursuing any subject. It would be a 
waste of time, though, to require a teacher to do 
this. Much of the material in any subject is 
formal in nature. There is a type of material 
that can be utilized in various situations, and it 
is advisable to have this phase of the subject- 
matter in permanent form. Much drill must be 
given to formal material and to furnish this requi- 
site drill a wealth of material must be at hand. 
The textbook serves this purpose and frees the 
12 



TEXTBOOK A NECESSARY TOOL 

teacher to employ his time advantageously in 
other ways. If a teacher furnishes to a class 
material that could well be in textbook form, he 
wastes a large amount of time in dictation. It is 
a sign of inefficiency to waste the time of a class 
in dictating matter that should be available in 
texts. If no text contains the subject-matter the 
teacher wishes to use, he should see that it is put 
in such form that it can be given to pupils. This 
is in many cases the mode by which our good 
texts have had their inception. 



II 

THE COMMON BASIS FOR SELECTION OF, 
TEXTS 

The selection of textbooks presents a large prob- 
lem to school officials. It is this problem that 
has brought most criticism on school systems and 
administrators. This has been due to the perni- 
cious activity of unscrupulous representatives of 
book companies and petty politicians who repre- 
sent the people on the school board. The busi- 
ness ethics of the publisher of schoolbooks is 
much higher to-day than it was a decade or two 
ago. The men who represent a reputable book 
company are men of character and integrity. 
The unsavory business methods which were 
formerly used to influence school authorities to 
select inferior textbooks are still remembered by 
the public, and it therefore sometimes causes a 
storm of protest in cities when teachers request a 
desirable change in books; the public looks with 
suspicion on a request for a change of books, feel- 
ing that there is an ulterior motive underneath. 
An idea has prevailed that the publisher who 
could send into the field an agent skillful in the 
14 



COMMON BASIS FOR SELECTION 

manipulation of the politicians on the board of 
education and in working a form of petty graft 
was frequently the one who secured the business. 
The tactics of the unscrupulous publishing houses 
frequently required other publishers to resort to 
means many of them deplored, yet they were 
powerless to do otherwise in order to save their 
business. The arguments used by these men 
were the ones that would appeal to school board 
members. They were not the arguments that 
should appeal to school officials who wish to se- 
cure the best texts for teachers. Fortunately, 
progress has been made in the making of text- 
books, and progress is in evidence in the methods 
of the selection of books. We shall discuss at this 
point the basic considerations that have been used 
for selecting textbooks, appreciating, also, that 
they unfortunately are still to some extent in op- 
eration. Later we shall elaborate standards that 
would seem to be necessary and justifiable as basic 
principles for choosing textbooks for our schools. 
Prestige of an author has been one of the stock 
arguments for the excellency of a textbook. It 
may be a valid argument, but it is not necessarily 
so. The author who is known as a scholar may 
not be a person who is able to write a textbook 
satisfactory for children in the elementary school 

15 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

pursuing the elements of the subject. He may 
be an excellent and accurate scholar, he may see 
his subject in a large way, he may be an investi- 
gator in this particular field; yet these facts do 
not mean that he can write a satisfactory treatise 
to be used as a textbook for children. The mere 
fact that he is an authority in his field may be a 
handicap in fitting him to write a text suitable 
for children in their immaturity. A savant is 
concerned with the problems confronting the in- 
vestigator who wishes to extend knowledge of 
his particular science or art. He is rarely inter- 
ested in the adaptation of the elements to the 
needs of the novice. 

The writer of a textbook, it is needless to say, 
should have a broad knowledge of the field which 
the subject covers. He must, however, be more 
interested in adapting it to the needs of the un- 
developed student than to the extension of knowl- 
edge in the field. The prestige of an author as an 
authority is not a valid reason for selecting a text 
written by him for elementary-school pupils, un- 
less he is equally interested in adapting the ma- 
terial to the needs of the students for whom the 
text is prepared. The following quotation indi- 
cates the proper attitude of the author toward a 
textbook: 

16 



COMMON BASIS FOR SELECTION 

The textbook is a teacher of teachers. If it is not a 
force which the teacher may substitute for himself, or 
as the text of an author stands for the great truths 
which the commentator interprets, it is at least a 
condition through which the teacher presents a sub- 
ject to the class. The best textbook of the genera- 
tion represents the union of two elements — a proper 
knowledge of the subject and a proper knowledge of 
the mind of the child. 1 

The prestige of the publisher is a standard 
which school boards frequently apply to the se- 
lection of particular texts. This factor should 
receive a certain amount of consideration,, but it 
should not be a fundamental factor. One wishes 
to be assured that a publishing company will live 
up to its contract and that it is in financial condi- 
tion to make this possible. One needs to guard 
against an irresponsible publisher just as he does 
against an irresponsible banker, broker, or grocer. 
The mere fact that a company has an excellent 
financial standing, that its imprint represents 
character, that it publishes many books, and that 
all books it publishes are carefully edited, does 
not mean that it publishes necessarily the best 
history, arithmetic, or reader for a particular 
school system. The publisher who does not have 

1 Charles F. Thwing, "Improvement of the Textbook," 
Nation, vol. 90, p. 424. 

17 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

a wide reputation may place on the market a 
textbook best adapted to the needs of a particu- 
lar school. School officials investigating suitable 
texts should get in touch with all publishers who 
have the reputation of putting desirable books on 
the market in this particular field. 

The efficiency of the sales force will always be a 
factor in the selection of textbooks as well as in 
the selection of automobiles. The man who has 
the ability to secure and hold the attention of 
his customer, presenting his goods in a pleasing, 
courteous manner, emphasizing the strong points 
together with the reasons for the same, will se- 
cure business. This factor is appreciated by 
most of the good publishing houses to-day, and 
the type of men who represent them as salesmen 
is quite superior. These men understand human 
nature, the psychology of salesmanship, know 
when to press a point and when to retire. The 
publishers who have a good line of books and 
who are represented by such men are the ones 
doing the most business to-day. The person 
who purchases an automobile because a glib 
salesman has demonstrated the strong points of 
the car he represents will frequently be disap- 
pointed in his choice. The person who has an 
independent attitude, who investigates the mer- 



COMMON BASIS FOR SELECTION 

its of all the well-known makes of cars, and se- 
lects the one apparently best suited to his needs, 
will be satisfied with his choice for a much longer 
period of time. The person who buys a suit of 
clothes because of the persuasive powers of an 
efficient salesman will be disappointed occasion- 
ally when he gets his reflection in the mirror. 
The person who is choosing textbooks should 
realize that the salesman, although he should be 
allowed to present the strong features of his 
books, should play no part in influencing his 
choice. He should make the same unbiased se- 
lection that he would make had no agent pre- 
sented the excellent features of his books. 

The general appearance of a book is another 
factor in the selection of texts. A textbook 
should be well bound, printed on good paper, 
with clear, accurate, appropriate illustrations. 
One needs to be careful that the appearance 
does not influence his opinion as to the merits 
of the material which the book contains. A 
text should be artistic in appearance and should 
foster instead of interfere with the development 
of good taste. A child who has used artistic 
textbooks in school will not be apt to buy for 
his own private library, when he reaches ma- 
ture years, the monstrosities that we now see in 

. 19. 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

the bookcases of many homes where books are 
used to indicate a certain kind of social prestige. 
Books are printed to be read. Schoolbooks are 
printed to be used by children. A book that will 
stand constant use without becoming dilapidated 
in a short time is essential. General appearance 
is only one factor — one should guard against 
giving it undue importance. 

The wide use of a text is often used as an argu- 
ment for its selection in a particular school sys- 
tem. Book companies make this argument very 
prominent when they are pushing the sale of a 
text. It would be a justifiable argument for sell- 
ing a washing machine to a housewife, for her 
problem of washing clothes on a Monday morn- 
ing is practically the same one that confronts mil- 
lions of other women. Applied to a textbook, 
we can easily see the fallacy underlying such an 
argument. Textbooks are sometimes widely 
used when their influence is waning. School ad- 
ministrators rarely dispose of a book until they 
are sure they have secured something that will 
more readily meet their needs. A text may be in 
use when it is not satisfactory because school 
people have not found what they wish, because 
they lack money to purchase new books, or be- 
cause certain political influences make a change 
20 



COMMON BASIS FOR SELECTION 

impossible. The statement that a book is wide- 
ly used requires careful investigation to find 
whether it is gaining or losing ground. One can 
think of a few texts that are still widely used, but 
if a large number of the cities in which they have 
holdings were to make a selection at the present 
time, these books would receive no consideration. 
Again, the wide use of a text means that it meets 
general conditions in an admirable way, that it is 
published by a company of large reputation, that 
the selling force has been exceptionally efficient. 
The fact that a book meets general conditions 
may be an argument against its use in a system 
having specific problems which it is attacking. 
The argument of wide use would have force only 
in a similar situation. 

; The cost of a book is an argument that appeals 
to school boards. The fact that they may secure 
one book for a cent or two a copy less than an- 
other makes a decided appeal. A business man 
considers the worth of an article the prime factor 
in purchasing it; and he will rarely, if ever, pur- 
chase one article in preference to another merely 
because the cost is slightly less, unless he is con- 
vinced that he gets an equal value. Mr. Busi- 
ness Man, when a member of the school board, 
frequently takes quite a different attitude. He 

21 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

lacks the requisite knowledge of texts to be able 
to form an estimate of the value of one in relation 
to another. His training of necessity has taught 
him the advisability of purchasing at the lowest 
possible price. He fails to take into considera- 
tion that in his own business he is a competent 
judge of the value of the article he is purchasing; 
whereas, in the school business, he does not have 
the requisite knowledge. He employs persons 
who are supposed to be experts, who are sup- 
posed to know which book is best suited to the 
needs of the schools, who are supposed to make a 
careful examination of an article before recom- 
mending it. Very frequently, however, he over- 
rides their best judgment and reaches a conclu- 
sion solely on the basis of cost. It is gratifying to 
note that school board members are beginning to 
place more confidence in the judgment of trained 
experts who are in direct charge of the schools. 
This attitude is reacting favorably on the schools. 
The public has more confidence in the judg- 
ment of superintendents and teachers in meeting 
everyday situations. More consideration can be 
given individual differences in children, and the 
textbooks that are being selected are a greater 
aid in carrying out the ideals of the people who 
are responsible for the conduct of the school. 

22 



COMMON BASIS FOR SELECTION 

We have discussed the common bases used in 
the selection of textbooks. We have examined 
each briefly, and we have seen that the selection 
should not be based on the prestige of the author 
or publisher, the suavity of the salesman, the 
general appearance of the book, its wide use, or 
its low cost. These are factors which should be 
considered merely as minor elements for consid- 
eration. The sole-test should be the adaptability 
of the text to meet the needs of a particular 
school system. 



Ill 

CURRENT METHODS OF SELECTING 
TEXTBOOKS 

The method of selecting textbooks has not re- 
ceived the attention it has deserved. Faulty 
methods of selection have often meant a choice 
that has failed to meet the requirements of a 
school system. The selection of texts is made in 
several different ways. The wisdom of the selec- 
tion will depend on the efficiency of the agency 
upon whom this duty devolves. It will be our 
purpose to consider briefly various methods of 
selection, the advantages and limitations of each 
plan. 

In many cities the school board chooses the 
books to be used in the schools. A school board 
is the representative of the people for conduct- 
ing public schools. It has been vested with this 
power by the people and is responsible to the peo- 
ple for its acts. The schools are conducted for 
the welfare of the people. It is in accordance with 
our ideals of government that they truly repre- 
sent the will of their constituents. It is the duty 
of school boards to provide suitable buildings, 
^24 



METHODS OF SELECTING 

equipment, and teachers for the proper conduct of 
the schools. They must see that the people supply 
adequate financial support; they must see that 
the schools are conducted in accordance with the 
laws of the State; they must see that the persons 
who are in charge of the instruction are efficient 
and competent and are performing their duties 
effectively. School boards are very frequently 
made up of laymen who are unfamiliar with the 
technique of instruction. They are responsible 
for instruction; but by being unacquainted with 
the technique, it means that they employ as an 
executive a person who understands these prob- 
lems. Our American cities have school boards rep- 
resenting the people. This board in turn appoints 
for a limited term a superintendent of schools who 
is its executive officer. This is in accordance 
with ordinary business practice. The members 
of a business corporation are not versed in the 
technical information of the law which governs 
the operations of their corporation; consequently, 
they employ trained and skilled lawyers to repre- 
sent them. The stockholders of a railroad own 
and are responsible for the conduct of its affairs. 
They do not have the requisite knowledge of 
railroad management to manage a road success- 
fully; therefore, it is necessary for them to em- 

25 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

ploy a person who is efficient in managing a rail- 
road. The head of a household is responsible for 
the well-being of those under his charge. When 
they become ill, if he does not possess the requi- 
site skill to heal them, he employs a trained 
physician who possesses the requisite technical 
knowledge. 

A school board employs an expert because it is 
an understood fact that this shall be done, but it 
interferes continually with the official acts of its 
agent. The directors of a railroad sanction the 
acts of their manager, but they do not handicap 
him in the execution of his policy. The school 
board should have the same attitude toward the 
superintendent of schools. The superintendent 
who is employed by a school board is supposed to 
be thoroughly trained in his particular task and 
should be permitted to exercise his authority in 
carrying out the work delegated to him. He 
should have charge of instruction; he should em- 
ploy teachers; he should decide what material 
and textbooks are needed for carrying on the 
work, unhampered by the activity of the board. 
Unfortunately, many members of boards of edu- 
cation feel that it is their prerogative to purchase 
every lead pencil, every sheet of paper, that is 
used in the schools. They even wish to pre- 
26 



METHODS OF SELECTING 

scribe the size of the sheet and the hardness of 
the lead. Members who have this attitude are a 
menace to effective work in the schools. If they 
employ and discharge teachers, select textbooks, 
and provide materials for instruction on their 
own responsibility, schools make little progress. 
When they select textbooks it means that the 
selection has little relation to the efficiency of the 
text meeting the particular needs of the school. 
Selection of textbooks by board members has 
prostituted the schools in some cities to a mere 
football for greedy politicians. This method of 
selection is rapidly passing. Vestiges of the 
practice still remain in a few cities. 

The superintendent of schools in many locali- 
ties is a person who is wholly responsible for the 
selection of books. He has been vested with 
power by the school board; he is responsible for 
the conduct of the school; he is carrying into exe- 
cution the will of the board, and he is directly 
responsible to the board, not to the people. The 
board is responsible to the people and, conse- 
quently, responsible for the acts of the superin- 
tendent. If he does not carry out their will, if he 
does not cooperate in furthering the cause of 
education as the board sees its purpose, if he is 
not amenable to the suggestions which they feel 
27 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

are desirable, if he is not in sympathy with poli- 
cies which they consider necessary, he should be 
discharged. If, on the other hand, he does not 
feel that he can carry out conscientiously the will 
of the board, if its policies seem to him prejudi- 
cial to the welfare of the community, it is his 
privilege to resign. The board should outline its 
policies in a large way and permit him to carry 
them out in detail, for he is a person who has had 
training and opportunity to see various elements 
in the school situation in their right relation. It 
is his duty to take charge of instruction and, in 
most cities, he is responsible for the business 
management of the schools. In a few cities the 
business management and instruction are sepa- 
rated and delegated to different people. In 
either case, the selection of textbooks should 
come under the authority of the superintendent. 
It is vitally related to the problem of instruc- 
tion and only incidentally to the business side. 
Textbooks are tools of instruction and should 
be selected from this point of view. This does 
not mean that the superintendent is to be sole 
arbiter in the selection of books. It has meant 
just this many times, but under such conditions 
dissatisfaction has usually arisen. The selec- 
tion by the superintendent is not open to the 
28 



METHODS OF SELECTING 

same criticism that we find when a choice is 
made by a school board. He is somewhat of an 
authority, at least, on instruction and the needs 
of the school. His judgment of a textbook in one 
subject might be excellent and in another faulty. 
It is a rare individual whose judgment would be 
equally good in all subjects. Few superintend- 
ents, therefore, wish to take responsibility with- 
out securing advice from teachers who must 
actually use a textbook. It is rarely that a rec- 
ommendation for a book is made without secur- 
ing the opinions of teachers. Still there are some 
superintendents who feel this to be their preroga- 
tive and selection is made in an arbitrary manner. 
Another method for the selection of texts is by 
the teaching force in cooperation with the super- 
intendent. The teachers are the ones who must 
ultimately use a textbook. They are the ones 
who ought logically to have a voice in its adop- 
tion. They are working with the pupils. They 
understand the attitudes, needs, and capacities 
of students at this particular stage of develop- 
ment. They understand what adaptation must 
be made of the material that is to be taught. 
They must see that this adaptation is made, and 
if the tool which they are using is inferior, the 
work will be much more difficult and less efii- 
29 



^THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

cient. The architect of a building does not pre- 
scribe the make of tools that the carpenter will 
use in constructing it. The carpenter is given 
opportunity to select tools he has found most 
efficacious in his work. He is the judge of the 
tools best suited to his needs. If this is true in 
the building trades, why should it not be the case 
in the much more exacting and important task of 
teaching? It may be said that teachers are not 
as skillful as carpenters, that they are not in 
touch with the best tools of their trade, that they 
are not interested in securing the tools best fitted 
for their purpose. But if they are not, it is due 
to the fact that their superiors in authority have 
not placed responsibility upon them. The best 
way to find out whether a person is able to take 
added responsibility is to test him by giving addi- 
tional duties or more difficult tasks to perform. 
If this test were applied to teachers, might it not 
bring out unexpected talents? 

It is essential to have a definite procedure for 
a working basis when the superintendent wishes 
the cooperation of his teaching force in selecting 
a text. Various plans have been worked out for 
this purpose. In some cases principals of schools 
are delegated the duty of finding from their 
teachers the text which seems to be most suitable 
30 



METHODS OF SELECTING 

for use in their school. The teachers in the vari- 
ous schools in the city examine texts, express 
choices, and the principals meet with the super- 
intendent to make a final selection. The super- 
intendent then recommends for adoption the 
text which seems to be most suited to the needs 
of the city as a whole. In other cases committees 
are appointed from the teachers to investigate 
thoroughly the merits of different textbooks. 
These people examine different texts, meet to- 
gether, discuss the merits of the various books, 
and finally make a recommendation to the super- 
intendent. 

In some cities, before a book is finally adopted, 
it is tested in certain schools. It has been found 
that even if a book has received the most careful 
examination by competent judges, it may not 
meet their expectation in use. Frequently two 
books on examination seem equally meritorious, 
but in an actual schoolroom test one is found 
much superior to the other. Many schools, be- 
fore making a final selection, make a tentative 
choice of two or three books and test them in 
representative schools. The one best meeting 
the needs is the one finally selected. This prac- 
tice, while open to objections, has much to com- 
mend it. { 

3i 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

Variations of these* plans are common. The 
attempt is made in all of them to secure a more 
exhaustive examination of texts and to select 
those which appear to be most suited to the needs 
of the teachers. A large number of teachers 
under any of these plans gain more or less famili- 
arity with the textbook before it is adopted. 
When the book is known they are in a position to 
begin effective work with it at once. A text that 
is wholly unfamiliar to a teacher fails to be an 
effective tool until he appreciates its purpose, 
knows its scope, its content, and organization. 
The teacher in a school system who is asked to 
use a book in the selection of which the teachers 
have had no part, oftentimes has a spirit of 
antagonism toward it which requires several 
months, if not years, of satisfactory service be- 
fore the prejudice is eradicated. 

The advantage of the selection of a textbook 
by the teaching force and the superintendent is 
so obvious that it is difficult to understand how 
school boards could feel it is their prerogative to 
select texts. The superintendent sees the needs 
of the schools in a broad, impartial way. He is 
in a position to understand the differences that 
one usually finds in the cosmopolitan population 
of a modern city. He is in a position to under- 
32 



METHODS OF SELECTING 

stand what common elements must be empha- 
sized so to train children that the diversity of 
types may be assimilated into one American 
type. He is in a position to judge material from 
the standpoint of a broad outlook, for he is not 
chained down to the narrow problem of instruc- 
tion. The individual teacher does not have the 
opportunity to get the broad point of view of the 
superintendent. He has an obvious advantage, 
nevertheless, because he comes in contact with 
the immature student. He understands the 
particular needs in instruction and knows what 
material a book should contain to make it most 
usable. A book needs to be scrutinized from 
both these points of view if it is to be the potent 
force desirable in a text. When it has been ex- 
amined, its contents analyzed both from the 
standpoint of concent and organization by the 
people who are responsible for formulating the 
ideals of the system, and also by those who must 
use it in instruction, a reasonably satisfactory 
choice is bound to be made. 



IV 

METHOD AND TERM OF ADOPTION AS A 
FACTOR 

Various methods of adoption of textbooks are 
found throughout the country; each method has 
certain arguments in favor of it which we shall 
briefly consider. Let us first consider State 
adoption. There are three arguments for this 
method, namely: 

i. Textbooks will be uniform for an entire 
State so that a pupil who moves from one section 
to another will have no difficulty in entering any 
school and taking his place in a particular grade. 

2. The cost of books will be decreased. State- 
wide adoption means that publishers will give 
better terms than they would in an adoption in 
a smaller area. This, however, is an argument 
that no longer has much force, for many cities 
have passed laws requiring textbook publishers 
to furnish books to towns and cities at the same 
cost that they are furnished in all other localities. 

3. State adoption means that books are usu- 
ally selected by more competent authorities. 
The legislature usually decides how a commission 

34 



METHOD AND TERM OF ADOPTION 

shall be appointed for the selection of books. It 
usually means that the members of this commis- 
sion are people who are supposedly competent 
and that publishers cannot resort to petty machi- 
nations that one finds when adoptions are made 
by local units. 

The opponents of State adoption make appar- 
ently just as strong negative arguments. They 
hold that it is unwise to adopt a text for an en- 
tire State. Conditions vary so much in the needs 
of particular parts of the State that it is unwise 
and impossible to select a text that will meet such 
varying social needs. In practically all of our 
States we find large cities and rural communities. 
The needs of the children in the schools of the 
cities are entirely different from those of the 
sparsely settled parts of the State. The experi- 
ences of the majority of the children in the city 
are so different from those in the rural districts 
that material in certain textbooks will need to be 
quite different. Take, for instance, the subject 
of arithmetic in which content is usually consid- 
ered to be subordinate to form. If the problems 
are problems relating to city life, they have lit- 
tle meaning to the child in the country. Again, 
if the problems in the text are mostly farm prob- 
lems, they have little or no meaning to the child 

35 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

who has been reared among skyscrapers and has 
never seen a spot of open country. In language 
the needs are quite different; the habits of speech 
of the city gamin are very different from those 
of the wholesome country boy. Each group pre- 
sents a specific problem. A text that attacks it 
in a general way fails to meet the needs of either 
group. 

Another argument against State adoption is 
that the commission selecting books for a State 
will be almost wholly unfamiliar with the par- 
ticular needs of the schools. Tne men appointed 
to the commission are usually selected because of 
their broad civic interests, because of their repu- 
tation as sound business men, because of their 
business integrity, or because of their prestige in 
the learned professions. It does not follow that 
the lawyer, banker, or physician who has been 
successful in his own field will be at all able to 
select a textbook that will be best adapted to the 
needs of the schools. They are unfamiliar with 
classroom instruction. They are not in a posi- 
tion to know what tools a teacher must have to 
do the most effective work. Such a commission 
would not be considered competent to purchase 
instruments for a surgeon. The person who 
made such a suggestion would be considered a 

36 



METHOD AND TERM OF ADOPTION 

candidate for an insane hospital. Unfortunately, 
it is just such a board that is chosen to select 
books for our teachers. 

There seems to be a tendency at present 
toward merging the textbook commission with 
State boards of education. This has been ap- 
parently true where such boards are composed of 
appointed members, for an appointive board may 
be made up of citizens who have a knowledge of 
and an interest in the schools. In few instances, 
though, can one find a board that selects text- 
books for a State who have enough practical 
knowledge of school procedure to make a wise 
choice on the strict basis of school needs. 

Monahan, in his bulletin on "Free Textbooks 
and State Uniformity," states the chief reasons 
that have prevailed for State adoption: 

Laws for State uniformity have been enacted for 
many reasons. Probably the reason which has car- 
ried the greatest weight in causing the passage of 
legislation has been the question of cost. State adop- 
tion of uniform books has been taken as a means of 
regulating prices to prevent sales at exorbitant prices 
or at prices greater than the same books are sold in 
other places. In this the plan on the whole has been 
successful. State adoptions are made under regula- 
tions requiring contract prices with deposits of bonds 
to be forfeited in case of any violations of the terms 

37 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

of the contracts. It is undoubtedly true that lower 
prices prevailed after State uniformity had been es- 
tablished and adoptions made. Textbook publishers 
could afford to make lower prices when all the schools 
in the State were required to use their books, as the 
cost of selling was then made comparatively small. 
The high prices formerly paid were often the work of 
the local dealers rather than of the publishers. The 
legislation providing State adoptions has in all cases 
set the price to be paid by the users and has therefore 
prevented local dealers from overcharging. The es- 
tablishment of State uniformity for State adoptions 
in twenty-four States has caused lower prices in 
other States; in many instances legislation has been 
passed prohibiting the sale of books in a State at 
prices higher "than such books are sold for elsewhere 
under similar conditions." 

This provision, however, during a period of 
rapidly changing costs works an injustice either 
to the publisher or to the adopting unit. 

The change in prices in all commodities during 
the war period has worked a great hardship on 
publishers of textbooks. The prices of material 
and labor advanced by leaps and bounds, yet in 
many cases the publishers had contracts for sup- 
plying books at prices which were less than the 
cost of material. Again, if manufacturing costs 
recede greatly during the period of a contract, 
38 



METHOD AND TERM OF ADOPTION 

the cost of books to the purchaser in comparison 
with the manufacturing price may be exorbi- 
tant. When prices are advancing, a contract 
for a period of years is unfair to the publishers, 
and, when they are decreasing, it is unfair to 
the public who must purchase the books. Fluc- 
tuation in manufacturing costs makes the plan 
hazardous. 

Legislation which prohibits the sale of books in 
a State at prices higher than such books are sold 
for elsewhere under similar conditions is also a 
great handicap to publishers. Under such laws, 
publishers find it practically impossible to ever 
raise the price of a book that has been adopted 
under such a contract. As contracts are not made 
the same date in all places, publishers will be 
compelled, when manufacturing costs are in- 
creasing, to fulfill a contract at a price below 
manufacturing costs. This will mean that the 
publishers must withdraw such a book from publi- 
cation and substitute one that can be published 
under the prevailing conditions. This means that 
the publishing houses are unable to devote their 
energies to the publication of the best textbooks. 
The margin of profit on the publication of text- 
books, owing to competition in the business, is 
less than in most other lines of activity. If the 
39 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

public wishes the best books for the children in 
the schools at the best possible prices, it should 
not make demands of the publishers which make 
it impossible of realization. 

State adoption is a much-mooted question. 
The pendulum seems to be swinging in that di- 
rection at the present time; it is questionable 
whether this will continue. At present there are 
twenty-four States with uniform textbook laws. 
There are rather deep rumblings from some of 
these States, and this is indicative of the fact that 
it has not been satisfactory. 

County adoption is found in a few States, and 
while the unit is smaller than in State adoption 
it presents the same drawbacks. A county may 
not have the same diversity of elements that one 
will find in a State, yet we find in many counties 
practically the same number of problems that we 
find in the schools of the State. If the county 
is almost entirely rural, county adoption is ad- 
vantageous especially where the county is the 
unit for supervision. 

It might seem that county adoption is more 
undesirable than State adoption from the stand- 
point of the efficiency of the machinery making 
the selection. The county board of education 
on whom this duty devolves in a few of the 
40 



METHOD AND TERM OF ADOPTION 

States is not often composed of persons compe- 
tent to make a wise selection. They are fre- 
quently placed on the county board because of 
political efficiency or because of the necessity of 
having a certain locality represented. Only in 
rare cases do they have any great interest in, or 
understanding of the problems of the schools. 
The States that provide for selection bv the 
county superintendent and a committee of teach- 
ers overcome some of the objections that are in- 
herent in the selection by a county board. 

In many of our States each rural district has 
the authority to choose the texts in the schools. 
The books are purchased by the local school 
board composed of people who know little or 
nothing about texts. The low-salaried teachers 
change so frequently that their advice is scarcely 
worth while. We have one of two results in such 
a situation. The textbooks are antiquated and 
out-of-date and new books are rarely adopted, or 
we may find a constant change of books, each 
teacher demanding something different from his 
erstwhile predecessor. Consequently, there is a 
large expense without commensurate advantager 
When we have progressive school legislation 
throughout the country, it is safe to prophesy 
that the unit decided upon for securing best re- 

4i 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

suits in supervision will be the unit for which 
textbooks will be adopted. 

The selection of textbooks should be related to 
the supervisory unit. In the past the super- 
visory unit has been based on political divisions. 
The more recent developments in supervision 
discard the county and district as the unit and 
plan the work, not on the basis of political divi- 
sions, but rather on social unity. Under these 
conditions it would seem that the supervisory 
district presents the best basis for the adoption 
of texts. The cities in the States where district 
supervision prevails are organized districts. 
This would mean that the city, as well as the 
rural district, would have the privilege of select- 
ing the text best suited to its own needs. Under 
this plan districts that have comparatively like 
social problems are grouped together and placed 
in charge of an expert supervisor. The attempt 
is made to secure a person who has had training 
and experience to assist, direct, and supervise the 
teachers in his unit. The States where this plan 
has been tried are finding the efficiency of the 
schools is being increased through the efforts of 
a trained supervisor. 

The term of adoption is an important factor in 
selection. If a book can be changed at the whim 
42 



METHOD AND TERM OF ADOPTION 

of a school board or teacher, the chances are that 
little care will be given to its selection. The 
teacher who knows that he must use a book three 
or five years will tend to study its spirit and pur- 
pose, its content and organization, much more 
carefully than he would if he knew it might be 
changed any time. It is essential that publishers 
know their books will be used for a definite period 
of time after adoption, otherwise the business of 
publishing schoolbooks would be too hazardous. 
Adoptions are for various periods. The most 
common range is from four to eight years; the 
most frequent period five years, which thirteen 
States have fixed by law. The most liberty in 
changing texts seems to prevail in the States that 
have district uniformity, and the least in those 
having State uniformity. The judgment that 
a five-year period is most desirable for using a 
book seems sound. A teacher will use a text 
more effectively after he has become familiar 
with it. Publishers are protected adequately, 
and few books become hopelessly out of date in 
that time. A much longer period would have 
serious drawbacks at a time of rapid educational 
development. It would be unfortunate to con- 
tinue histories, for example, that in no way made 
reference to the World War. It would be little 

43 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

less than criminal to continue a series of geogra- 
phies for several years after the map of Europe 
has been readjusted to meet new conditions aris- 
ing from the recent war. 

Laws have been passed in many States safe- 
guarding the interests of both schools and pub- 
lishers. Monahan, in his bulletin, "Free Text- 
books and State Uniformity," states briefly how 
this protection is given: 

The textbook commissions advertise for bids and 
sample copies of books. Bidders are, as a rule, re- 
quired to file bonds of from $200 to $5000 with their 
bids as guarantees of good faith. When the con- 
tracts are awarded the bonds are returned. In all 
States, after adoption, contracts with accepted pub- 
lishers are required, together with bonds of from 
$10,000 to $50,000 as guarantees for the performance 
of the contracts. Usually the contracts require that 
the price of all books be printed on the books, and 
guarantee all books shall be sold at as low a price as 
in any other State. The exchange prices are often 
fixed and provisions are made in the contracts for 
changing terms only by consent of the publishers and 
practically all members of the board. 



FREE TEXTBOOKS VERSUS INDIVIDUAL 
OWNERSHIP AS A FACTOR 

One problem in connection with textbooks which 
has caused much discussion has been the ad- 
vantage of free textbooks over individual owner- 
ship. It is not a new problem. Philadelphia 
made provision for free textbooks a century ago. 
This policy was first adopted in many Eastern 
cities, and Massachusetts was the first State to 
pass a free textbook law. The movement has 
spread throughout the country, and to-day we 
find States on the western coast with free text- 
book laws as well as in the East. Monahan gives 
a list of fifteen States, together with the District 
of Columbia, that have mandatory legislation for 
free texts. In seventeen other States districts 
may supply free books if they wish. This indi- 
cates that the movement is gaining ground, and 
it might seem as though the general policy in this 
country would be to furnish textbooks free to all 
students. 

The free textbook movement is so intimately 
bound up with the development in the making of 

45 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

textbooks that it is in place to consider argu- 
ments pro and con. One argument for free texts 
has been financial. Many persons have con- 
tended that all people who pay taxes to support 
schools should assist in purchasing textbooks, for 
the textbook is an essential element in school in- 
struction. Under the plan of individual owner- 
ship it has been the man with the large family 
who has borne the burden of supplying texts. 
The man of means, if he has had no children, bore 
no part of this expense. If we believe the princi- 
ple valid that textbooks are a necessary and an 
indispensable factor in school instruction and 
that the cost of the schools should be met by tax 
on property, the principle of free textbooks is 
justifiable. 

Another argument in support of free textbooks 
is that the school work, especially at the begin- 
ning of the year, will begin with much more dis- 
patch than when individuals supply their own 
books. Under the plan of individual ownership 
every teacher realizes the difficulty of having all 
pupils supplied with necessary books at the first 
of the term. Persons who are living on the 
border-land of economic independence are fre- 
quently unable to meet the demands of securing 
schoolbooks at the time they are needed. Their 

46 



FREE TEXTBOOKS 

credit is not good and, consequently, they have 
to wait until pay-day before necessary supplies 
can be purchased. In many cases this means 
that a textbook will not be available until a week 
or two after the work in it is supposed to be be- 
gun. Such people do not always come under the 
class of indigents, and the school system does not 
feel justified in furnishing the texts on this basis. 
Children from such homes labor under a greater 
handicap than those who are the wards of charity. 
Free textbooks remove this obstacle. All children 
are on the same basis. Books are supplied to the 
well-to-do as well as to the poor, and the children 
whose parents are unable to buy books for them 
are in no way humiliated by receiving aid. 

Another argument frequently made is that 
under the free textbook plan a pupil does not 
need to use a book that has become so soiled and 
filthy that it implants bad habits and wrong 
ideals of cleanliness and neatness on the part of 
the one using it. Teachers hesitate to require 
pupils to purchase new books, particularly chil- 
dren who come from homes that are not economi- 
cally independent, even when the texts are badly 
soiled and worn. Under the free textbook plan a 
teacher does not hesitate to condemn a book that 
is no longer fit for service. 

47 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

Another argument for the free textbook is that 
it is possible to keep more up-to-date books in 
the system. When pupils buy their own books 
it is difficult to convince people that a change is 
advisable. A poor book under such conditions 
will be retained for a much longer period of time 
than it would were the books furnished by the 
public. Most school boards are closely in touch 
with the sentiment of the people in regard to the 
expenditure of money, and they hesitate to take 
any action that will cause individuals to be taxed 
directly as people are, necessarily, when they 
purchase new books for their children. When 
textbooks are purchased from the public funds it 
is considered a legitimate expenditure and few 
question the advisability. It is difficult to con- 
vince many parents of the virtue in changing 
textbooks when it means a considerable expendi- 
ture of money. They are not sufficiently famil- 
iar with the technique of teaching to appreciate 
the advantages of new and up-to-date books. 

Another argument for free textbooks is that it 
makes possible greater uniformity in the super- 
visory districts. This argument does not go be- 
yond uniformity of textbooks, and uniformity 
may and does exist independent of free text- 
books. There is some force to the argument of 
48 



FREE TEXTBOOKS 

securing uniformity through free textbooks. It 
appears to be easier to convince people of the 
advisability of having uniform texts in a super- 
visory district when the books are furnished free 
to pupils. The patrons of the old-time district 
school had the feeling that it was their right to 
select texts when they paid for them. The older 
teachers can recollect the time when children in 
district schools would bring different texts in the 
same subject and the parent insisted that they be 
permitted to use the book whether or not it was 
the one that had been selected for use in that 
district. This condition no longer exists. The 
attitude of mind is frequently present, however. 
An argument that has considerable weight for 
free textbooks is that much more supplementary 
material can be provided. A parent cannot be 
expected to buy many books in any one subject. 
An up-to-date school is not satisfied with one 
book in any subject. In most of our good school 
systems, children read from ten to twenty differ- 
ent texts in the first and second grades. It would 
be impossible to get parents to purchase so many 
books. The school systems must resort to sup- 
plying the supplementary books. If they do 
not, children are greatly hampered in their read- 
ing in the early years of school life. If these 

49 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

books are provided by the city it is only one step 
further, and a short one, in supplying all books 
free. 

The opponents of the idea make strong argu- 
ments against the plan, and even the most ardent 
exponents of the idea admit there are limitations. 
It is contended that in a free textbook plan stu- 
dents have the wrong idea toward books. If the 
State or city furnishes a book, the child does not 
think of it as his personal possession and fails to 
respect and to have the warm personal feeling 
toward it that he would did it belong to him. It 
is placed in his hands for a brief period and he 
does not treat it so carefully as he would were it a 
personal possession. It is contended that many 
people have used the textbooks studied in school 
as a nucleus for a library and that the old books 
are among the most prized possessions of ad- 
vanced age. When the books are furnished free 
to be used only temporarily this opportunity is 
lost. The desire for collecting books will not 
develop so early if it does at all. There are falla- 
cies in this argument, and if we carried it to its 
logical conclusion it would mean the elimination 
of museums, parks, and publicly owned property. 
One of the criticisms against our people has been 
that they do not respect public property, that 
5o 



FREE TEXTBOOKS 

they do not feel it is a part of their personal pos- 
session, that they do not have an individual re- 
sponsibility toward it. It might seem that re- 
spect would be implanted if children from their 
earliest years had in their possession publicly 
owned property. It might seem that publicly 
owned textbooks would furnish an opportunity 
for implanting this idea early in life. If this idea 
should be established through the use of text- 
books, greater respect would be felt toward those 
things that belong to the public, and there would 
be much less disregard and misuse of them than 
we now have. It might seem as though the 
advantage of instilling in the minds of youth a 
responsibility toward property that does not be- 
long to them would be greater than the disad- 
vantage of failing to have an interest in private 
possession. It would be desirable to have people 
take a social point of view toward their individ- 
ual possessions. A person who owns beautiful 
paintings, artistic sculpture, and rare books is 
just as much a miser as the one who hoards gold, 
if his treasures are not used for the edification of 
the public. A well-kept lawn is not only an asset 
to the owner of the property, but also to his fel- 
low-citizens. We wish to foster this social con- 
sciousness in the minds of the people. The pub- 

5i 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

lie possession of textbooks tends to develop this 
attitude of mind. 

The hygienic argument is one frequently made 
against free textbooks. A child who is not 
cleanly will use a book for a term or year, and it 
will then be passed on to another pupil. The 
pupil may have been afflicted with a communica- 
ble disease, and this will be contracted by the 
person who next uses the book. It is questiona- 
ble whether there is much force in the argument. 
Precautions are usually taken against the spread 
of contagious disease, and publicly owned books 
are easily destroyed. It is much more difficult to 
destroy those owned by an individual. Parents 
dislike, and hesitate about destroying books be- 
cause of the necessary expenditure of money in 
replacing them. Improper modes of fumigation 
in the home may make a book a menace to the 
community. Publicly owned books in school are 
fumigated properly or destroyed. 

It is frequently stated that pupils will not take 
the same care of publicly owned texts that they 
will of their own. They are not careful in their 
use. They take no precaution against soiling 
covers, tearing leaves, etc. They, however, wish 
to keep their own books in good condition, and 
the home frequently gives careful supervision to 
52 



FREE TEXTBOOKS 

the use of the books, for one book may be used by- 
several members of the same family. When the 
public supplies books the home feels little re- 
sponsibility and does not give children instruc- 
tion in their care. This is left entirely to the 
school. In the ordinary home children are given 
careful supervision in the care of their personal 
clothing and toys. They are made to appreciate 
the fact that if due care is not exercised they are 
the ones that suffer. Care of textbooks is merely 
one phase of this general problem. It is held, 
too, that it is difficult for teachers to discriminate 
between justifiable wear and tear and careless- 
ness in the use of books. Children are often 
criticized for misusing a book when they have 
not been guilty. A finical teacher tends to em- 
phasize carefulness unduly and, consequently, 
makes the child's life in school unpleasant. 

Another argument against free textbooks is 
that the pupil cannot be taught the best use of 
books. When a textbook is to be handed on to 
other persons, notations cannot be made in it. 
The ideas in a text are merely starters for reflec- 
tion. They must be clothed with flesh and 
blood if they have any great significance. The 
most valuable portions of a text which a per- 
son owns and has used in the right way are 

53 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

frequently the notations which he has made 
throughout the book. This valuable asset to 
study is entirely lost when a book must be passed 
on without being defaced in any way. The 
flowers that grow in the public park are for the 
benefit and pleasure of all who may pass, but a 
bed of flowers that is grown in a private yard 
may in addition to giving pleasure to the passer- 
by be utilized as cut flowers to beautify the 
dining-room table. In the first case we have 
public ownership, and this limits to a certain de- 
gree the individual use of the flower garden. 
The public ownership of a textbook necessarily 
limits the use of the textbook. 

Another argument against free textbooks is 
that it tends toward retarding individual initia- 
tive. The ideal of democracy is that each must 
contribute as well as participate in the fruits of 
freedom. If textbooks are provided for pupils, 
parents will tend to have the attitude of depend- 
ence on the State. It is held by some that the 
textbooks in school should be an individual pos- 
session, for it is the individual who makes use of 
it who receives the benefit. If individuals are 
given all the materials needed in the prosecution 
of school work, it would not require any great 
stretch of imagination to demand that the State 
54 



FREE TEXTBOOKS 

furnish the means of subsistence as well. This 
argument is rather easily met by advocates of 
free texts. It is questionable whether it has 
much weight. 

Another argument made by the opponents is 
that the greatly increased taxes necessary for 
furnishing books will leave less money for operat- 
ing expenses. This will mean that it will be more 
difficult to get adequate salaries for teachers. It 
probably can be demonstrated that salaries in 
cities and States where textbooks are furnished 
free are the same as they are in places where in- 
dividual ownership prevails. In some free text- 
book communities salaries are much above the 
average for the country as a whole. One State, 
which is a Mecca for teachers from all parts of 
the country because of large salaries, is a free 
textbook State. 

The problem of free textbooks versus individ- 
ual ownership has not been settled for the coun- 
try as a whole. One's attitude on the question 
will depend largely upon his philosophy of the 
State. If he believes in State ownership of pub- 
lic utilities and State control of the necessities of 
life, the chances are that he will be inclined to 
favor public ownership of the necessary tools of 
instruction. We, as a people, believe in free, 

55 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

compulsory education; that it is the duty and 
function of the State to see that all children are 
given equal opportunities and advantages in the 
public school; that instruction in the public 
schools should be modified and adapted to meet 
the needs of the individual; that each individual 
should have the chance to develop himself in ac- 
cordance with his powers. This is the attitude 
of a great majority of our citizenship. It might 
seem that it would be only a short step in ad- 
vance to reach the conclusion that the State 
should furnish all the necessary tools of instruc- 
tion. This, in a large way, is the tendency in the 
country to-day; and if the pendulum does not 
swing backward, we need not be surprised to 
have the next generation feel that the public is 
just as responsible for furnishing textbooks as it 
is for furnishing buildings in which instruction is 
given. 



VI 

JUSTIFIABLE STANDARDS FOR SELECTION 

The reason for the poor selection of textbooks 
has frequently been due to the lack of justifiable 
standards for selection. The basis for selection 
has not been found in the educational needs of 
school-children in a particular city, but it has 
come usually from extraneous situations of little 
or no importance. The schools are beginning to 
appreciate the necessity for having standards to 
evaluate subject-matter and methods of proce- 
dure. The movement has gained considerable 
momentum from testings the products of the 
school. 

This attitude of mind, however, has rarely 
been applied to the selection of textbooks. A 
few of our schools for the training of teachers 
have emphasized the importance of selecting the 
right type of material. In connection with such 
investigations textbooks have been examined. 
In these examinations of texts only one phase of 
subject-matter has received critical examination 
at one time. Teachers and school officials have 
had practically no training in a scientific exami- 

57 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

nation of textbooks; consequently they have not 
protested vigorously against selection by authori- 
ties who have not been closely in touch with 
school conditions. Had they realized that it is 
just as important to have definite standards for 
selecting textbooks as it is for selecting a teacher, 
they would not have acquiesced in such a com- 
placent manner. Many school systems have 
evolved certain standards which they use in the 
selection of teachers: e.g., they require a certain 
amount of preliminary training; teachers must 
show evidence of scholastic ability by scholarship 
records or through examination; they must have 
reached a certain age, have had some experience, 
and submit testimonials of character, ability, 
etc. A few cities have many elements on which 
they score teachers before deciding to employ 
them. These same cities, in some instances, se- 
lect a textbook because political influence has 
been brought to bear by its backers. The text is 
the tool with which the teacher works, and it 
would seem that it would be desirable to apply 
standards to it as well as to the user. 

When we investigate other fields of activity we 
find standards applied. A short time ago the 
eyes of the country were turned toward the 
armies being raised for its defense. We find 

58 



STANDARDS FOR SELECTION 

definite standards were evolved and applied both 
to the selection of men and material. The press 
was loud in its denunciation of those in authority 
because sufficient provision had not been made 
for the selection of a standard type of machine 
gun. Standards are so definite and exact in the 
making of arms and munitions that it required 
several months to work out sufficient models 
which were preliminary to the making of neces- 
sary arms. It has been held that the Allies were 
quite handicapped in the prosecution of the war 
because they failed to take into consideration 
the need of definiteness in preparation. It was 
a great asset to the Central Powers, and most 
authorities hold that the standardized material 
and equipment used were the factors most re- 
sponsible for the advantage they had during the 
early years of the war. 

Take the automobile industry as another 
illustration. The reason for the development 
and extension of this industry has been the fact 
that many materials, parts, and operations have 
been standardized. The success of one great 
concern in this industry has been due to the con- 
ception of one man who saw the infinite possibili- 
ties of elimination of waste through standardiza- 
tion. There has been no guesswork; desirable 

59 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

standards have been evolved, tested, and put into 
execution. 

The great insurance companies illustrate an 
application of the same principle. They have 
worked out means of evaluating risks on a scien- 
tific basis, and they no longer make a guess that 
may or may not be valid. They have certain 
standards by which an individual or a piece of 
property is judged, so they are reasonably cer- 
tain of the outcome. Many other lines of 
activity could be mentioned which would show 
the same trend of development. 

There was a time when less exact means of 
procedure gave apparently satisfactory results. 
Needs of warfare to-day are quite different from 
the days of the Revolutionary War; it did not 
matter so much whether each rifle that Washing- 
ton's soldiers had was of the same caliber and 
bore, for individual soldiers moulded their own 
ammunition. To-day they might as well be 
armed with staves as with such rifles. The 
selection of textbooks by hit-and-miss method is 
no more in line with the scientific development 
of education than would be the equipping of an 
army with staves or looking at an individual and 
stating what risk should be assumed by an in- 
surance company or by judging the engine of the 
60 



STANDARDS FOR SELECTION 

automobile by the varnish of the body. It is, 
of course, not so apparent to laymen, for results 
are not so objective. It does not mean they are 
any less disastrous. 

An exhaustive examination of a text should 
be made by a competent committee before its 
adoption. A mere cursory examination is not 
sufficient; neither does a hasty examination give 
one an adequate basis for either selection or 
rejection. There are, to be sure, a few books so 
distinctive that one by reading the preface or 
foreword may appreciate that this is not the type 
of book which he wishes to consider. This is the 
exception rather than the rule. Most books are 
not particularly distinctive; they are written to 
meet the needs of a cosmopolitan population, and 
particular aspects of the work are not empha- 
sized. It requires a careful and minute examina- 
tion in such cases to decide which text emphasizes 
especially the largest number of elements most 
important. If it is considered advisable to se- 
lect a text that has been elaborated beyond the 
usual amount, it must be decided whether or not 
the elaboration is of the type desired. If it 
seems advisable to select a text giving many 
suggestions in regard to the best modes of treat- 
ing the subject, it requires investigation again to 
61 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

see whether or not the suggestions are in line 
with the ideals of teaching the particular subject 
in the system where the books are being con- 
sidered. 

A competent committee investigating text- 
books will make a better selection if they have a 
definite guide. It will be our purpose to point 
out the specific elements that should be given 
consideration in making a selection. 

Standards should be first applied to the content 
and organization of the textbook. A book ful- 
fills its purpose through its content. The au- 
thor conveys his message through the material 
he incorporates in his book. If his organization 
is effective it will make his purpose clear. Other 
factors are important because they either hamper 
or extend its use, but they are secondary con- 
siderations in the execution of its purpose. 

It has been mentioned earlier that the main 
justification for a textbook will be that it meets 
the particular need of the user. Every textbook 
has, or should have, a specific purpose. A school 
system should also have in mind definite aims 
for accomplishment. The aim in one city might 
be preparation for industrial or vocational 
efficiency. In another community it might be 
the preparation for a specific industry. In an- 
62 



STANDARDS FOR SELECTION 

other it might be to give orientation on the prob- 
lems of life without specific reference to any- 
specific phase. 

The content of the text must be examined with 
these ideals in mind. For example, a textbook 
in arithmetic has the specific purpose of giving 
problems that will be allied to agriculture. In a 
city community that wishes the pupils in the 
schools to have a general social viewpoint, such 
a text would not meet the needs. Again, a text 
in English which has been prepared for the needs 
of an Eastern city might not fit the purpose of a 
teacher in a ranch school on the Western plains. 

The purpose of the author is frequently in- 
dicated by his statement in the preface. The 
preface usually gives his point of view, but a 
much further analysis must be made in order to 
note whether or not he has been consistent in 
developing his point of view. Oftentimes an 
author develops an idea satisfactorily to himself, 
but on critical examination it is found that he has 
taken only one small phase of a general problem. 

A text should be examined from the stand- 
point of accuracy and reliability of material. 
Frequently books are lacking in breadth of 
scholarship and accuracy of statement. In the 
content subjects in particular one has to examine 

63 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

carefully to note that the statements which the 
author makes are based on sufficient experience 
or knowledge that makes his statements trust- 
worthy. One of the early American geographies 
makes the statement that the White Mountains 
of New Hampshire are the highest mountains of 
the United States. Probably it would be difficult 
to find such a flagrant case of misinformation in 
present-day textbooks, but there are those that 
are not wholly reliable. 

An arithmetic needs close and careful exami- 
nation to see whether the author has been con- 
sistent and conventional in his arithmetical no- 
tation. It needs inspection to find out whether 
or not his organization is logical; whether re- 
lationships which should be made apparent have 
been treated in such a way that the student 
easily sees the connection. 

The text must be free from bias and dogma- 
tism. It is easy for an historian, for example, 
who has prejudice in political parties, to discuss 
the tariff in such a way that only one half the 
truth has been given. People of an older gen- 
eration who studied United States history will 
remember what biased points of view were given 
in the discussion of the causes leading up to the 
Civil War. The writers of our school histories 
64 



STANDARDS FOR SELECTION 

were responsible to quite a degree for keeping 
alive the prejudices of the North and South 
against each other. It is the testimony of many 
teachers that their early instruction in this sub- 
ject gave them a bias that took years to eradicate. 
Relative values of subject-matter must receive 
consideration. An author who is interested in 
one aspect of a field of knowledge may become so 
imbued with the idea of its extreme importance 
that he will over-emphasize this topic in his 
text. Many illustrations can be given of this 
point. In geography we have had texts the 
author of which was particularly interested in 
physical geography and the books were entirely 
unbalanced from that point of view. In history 
the years which the country engaged in war re- 
ceived attention much beyond their due. In 
arithmetic topics which were a heritage of the 
Middle Ages continued to be given the same 
attention as topics which were vital in the 
twentieth century. Physiology emphasized the 
structure of the human body at the expense of 
the necessary laws of hygiene. Textbooks in 
language violate the principle of selection on the 
basis of relative values. The purpose of language 
teaching is granted by most people to be the 
formation of right speech habits. The texts very 
6 5 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

frequently devote much more attention to prin- 
ciples of grammar than to affording opportunity 
for fixing language habits through use. 

One of the greatest contributions to teaching 
in recent years has been the scientific study of 
the different subjects in the school curriculum. 
There has been accumulated a large amount of 
information on the material necessary in each 
subject through such studies. A textbook writer 
who is unfamiliar with these investigations, or, 
if familiar with them, gives no heed to them in 
the writing of a text, is placing an obstacle in the 
path of educational progress. Many textbooks 
on the market show that the author has been in 
no way influenced by these scientific investiga- 
tions. A person selecting books needs to bear 
this in mind in his examination. 

The committee on minimum essentials in 
elementary-school subjects has had a great 
influence on the content of textbooks. Arith- 
metic has been a subject that has required undue 
attention in the past, owing to the fact that 
obsolete material has still encumbered the text- 
books. Teachers have felt that it was necessary 
to teach these textbooks even though they could 
see no social sanction. Topics that have been of 
no practical use for centuries have received just 
66 



STANDARDS FOR SELECTION 

as much attention from the author of the text- 
book as those which are of real value. Most of 
our present-day writers have been influenced by 
investigations of the content of arithmetic, but 
there are still texts on the market that follow the 
traditional plan. 

In the subject-matter of spelling, which is con- 
sidered very simple from the layman's point of 
view, grave errors may be made if the author 
has not been a student of the present-day 
experiments in education. The change in the 
content of spelling is possibly as marked as in 
most subjects, yet there are still spelling-books 
on the market to-day that show no influence 
whatever of the results of the modern scholarship 
in this field. 

The amount of material in a textbook needs 
to be checked carefully. Many textbooks have 
contained a too meager amount to be most serv- 
iceable. The development of a topic may, in 
many cases, be adequate, but the drill material 
to gain the requisite skill in fixing the form has 
been inadequate. The amount needed in a text 
will depend to a great degree upon how many 
different texts are used in one subject. If a 
school is restricted to one or two textbooks it is 
essential that a text containing a larger amount of 

6 7 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

material be adopted than would be the case if 
half a dozen texts were available on the same 
subject. It is sometimes contended that if the 
text has a meager amount of material it can be 
supplemented by the teacher. This argument 
might at first thought seem valid, but a person 
who has had very much experience in supervision 
understands how difficult it is to get a sufficient 
amount of elaboration if the textbook presents 
a meager treatment. 

The illustrations of a text should be studied 
carefully. One striking line of demarcation 
between the texts of to-day and those of a few 
years ago is in the great use of illustrations. One 
of the recently published series of readers is il- 
lustrated by one of the best-known artists in this 
particular field. Publishers have gone to much 
expense to have illustrations that have artistic 
merit; in fact, it is said that the illustrations in 
some of the latest series of books have cost mucL 
more than the manuscript. The wise use of the 
stereopticon and motiograph in the schools is 
responsible for the increased attention given 
illustrations. We appreciate the value of using 
illustrations to secure attention, to arouse inter- 
est, and to present striking characteristics that 
are impossible to depict in abstract language. 
68 



STANDARDS FOR SELECTION 

There may come a reaction, and less attention 
may be given to illustrations than we have at the 
present time. We will never come back, though, 
to the dry, formal, unattractive textbooks that 
tended to make children feel that school was the 
place where anything beautiful was not to be 
tolerated. 

A textbook may be much more usable if it 
contains certain helps; e.g., index, selected lists 
of references, charts, diagrams, sketches, to make 
effective striking comparisons, and, also, a few 
suggestions of method that will be of assistance 
to teachers. These are elements that are com- 
monly overlooked, but they are important and 
significant from the standpoint of being a more 
effective instrument. The author has been told 
frequently that one recent series of books has 
been of great service to teachers because it has 
given hints of right methods of presentation. 

A second group of standards, while not of the 
same importance as content and organization, 
nevertheless should be taken into consideration 
by persons who are making a selection. In 
Chapter II we discussed the bases that are com- 
monly used and pointed out that many of them, 
though of some significance, received undue 
weight. 

69 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

The reputation of the author of a textbook 
has been given undue prominence in advertising 
the text. This has been particularly true if he 
was a man who had a reputation for scholarship, 
or if he had a large local following. A textbook 
should be written by a person who has a broad 
knowledge of his field; he should have adequate 
knowledge of the particular aspects of the work 
he is treating; he should have had experience in 
teaching students at the stage of advancement 
for which the text is intended. The latter point 
is particularly significant. A person may main- 
tain in an academic discussion that one who 
understands the general principles of mental 
development may write a satisfactory treatise 
without having had experience in teaching. It 
is only by direct contact in the classroom that 
one appreciates the attitude of students. The 
greatest teachers of teachers in our country to- 
day are the ones who have had direct experience 
in teaching both children and adults in all the 
different stages of development. Mere experi- 
ence in teaching is not sufficient for preparing 
satisfactory textbooks, but it is one of the in- 
dispensable elements. 

The reputation of publishers should be given 
a slight consideration. There are publishers 
70 



STANDARDS FOR SELECTION 

who have the reputation, and justly so, of pub- 
lishing nothing but books of decided merit. 
Their imprint on a book gives it character. 
One should be cautious about giving this element 
undue emphasis. 

The date of copyright should be taken into 
consideration. A period of rapid educational 
progress such as we have been passing through 
means frequently that textbooks, in many sub- 
jects, soon become obsolete unless kept up to 
date by revision. There have been textbooks 
that have served adequately the needs of the 
schools for a generation, but this is the exception 
rather than the rule. When books are selected 
for a period of years it is quite essential that the 
book shall represent the most modern scholar- 
ship. The wide use of a book, as has been stated 
previously, may be no argument for its adoption, 
but if a text has been tested and found satisfac- 
tory under conditions similar to those under 
which it is going to be used, it may be worth a 
little consideration. It may be comforting to a 
committee to know that they are not taking any 
undue risks in making a test. 

A third group of standards which should be 
taken into consideration is the mechanical con- 
struction of a book. These elements have prac- 

7i 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

tically no influence on the results of instruction. 
They are necessary to make its use more satis- 
factory. 

The first thing in the mechanical construction 
of a book which impresses one is its general ap- 
pearance. We form a judgment of a book when 
we first look at it. This is made up of many 
factors; we do not consciously analyze them, but 
speak of them in terms of general appearance. 
This may mean attractiveness of cover, kind of 
type, kind and number of illustrations, size 
of book, number of pages, binding, quality of 
paper, etc. All these things are factors in its 
appearance, yet the fact remains that two books 
may score equally in these separate facts though 
one has an undeniable something which the other 
does not possess. This is due to the artistic 
balance of all factors, and while this is to some 
people a minor or unimportant thing, yet the 
artistic appearance of the book should bear 
some weight in its selection. One of the results 
of school training should be the appreciation of 
the artistic, and a book which a child is constantly 
using should be of a kind that would foster 
rather than handicap his appreciation of the 
bookmaker's art. 

The binding of a book should be durable and 
72 



STANDARDS FOR SELECTION 

attractive, durable because a text receives hard 
usage, and attractive, for we wish to inculcate 
good ideals toward appreciating the book- 
binder's art. A book that is well-bound has a 
distinction that gives it a certain prestige, just 
as a well-dressed person finds less difficulty in 
meeting persons of culture and refinement than 
does one who is carelessly or over dressed. A 
person takes pride in an attractive book and will 
endeavor to keep it in better condition than he 
will one that is unattractive or that soon shows 
wear. 

The material out of which a book is made 
should receive considerable attention. Text- 
books are made for hard and constant usage, 
and if the material is poor and inferior in quality 
the life of the text is consequently short. The 
appearance of the material in some books is 
deceptive, and a person must know something of 
the quality of the paper to make an accurate 
judgment as to its durability. The writer once 
knew an agent who represented an inferior book 
and made a strong argument to the school board 
on the durability of the paper. It was a thick 
paper with glossy finish, made up of filler with 
practically no fiber. The board was quite dumb- 
founded to find at the end of one year that the 

73 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

books showed as much wear as the ordinary book 
would at the end of two or three years of service. 
It was an expensive lesson, yet it was taught to 
that school board effectively; it led them to de- 
cide that the judgment of an expert in selecting 
books was desirable. 

The type used in printing textbooks is receiving 
more attention to-day than formerly. We have 
had a few scientific investigations of the size of 
type and length of line that is most easily read 
and causes the least eye-strain. This is a matter 
that demands careful consideration in selecting 
textbooks for children. The size of type in the 
lower grades should be large enough — but not 
too large — so there should be no evidence of 
strain. The small child has difficulty in reading 
unfamiliar symbols; they should be clear and 
distinct enough to cause him no difficulty in 
recognizing the characters. It would be quite 
unusual to find persons selecting textbooks using 
a magnifying-glass and a millimeter measure; it 
should be the usual procedure, for only in this 
way can a selection meet hygienic requirements 
in size of type and length of line. Huey, 1 in his 
chapters on "The Hygiene of Reading," reaches 
the following conclusions from his study of the 
1 Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading. 
74 



STANDARDS FOR SELECTION 

investigations of persons who have studied the 
problem in a scientific way: that the height of the 
short letters should be not less than 1.5 millp 
meters to 3 millimeters; that the width of the 
vertical strokes should be no less than .25 up to 
.3 ; that the spaces within the letters between the 
vertical strokes should be not less than .3 of a 
millimeter; that the length of a line should be a 
maximum of 90 millimeters in length and some- 
what shorter lines are to be preferred; and that 
the length of lines, particularly in books for chil- 
dren, should be uniform. 

The size of the book needs to receive some at- 
tention, but this has been standardized to such 
a degree that little need be said on the subject. 
Textbooks on geography are about the only ones 
that have fluctuated in size to any great degree in 
the last few decades. It seems to be a mooted 
question in this country as to which size of book 
is most serviceable. Maps are necessary, and the 
problem arises whether it is better to have a 
larger book so that the maps may be incorporated 
with the subject-matter or to have a book com- 
parable in size to reading and language books and 
have an atlas accompanying them. There are 
good arguments on both sides of the question; 
the present tendency seems to be to have the 

75 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

books larger than those in other subjects and to 
have maps incorporated. 

We have outlined a few general facts that 
should be taken into consideration in a survey of 
any book. Now we are in a position to analyze 
texts in different subjects and point out factors 
that should receive attention in addition to the 
general points outlined above. There have 
been a few desultory attempts in different school 
systems to work out score cards in a few basic 
subjects; these attempts have been sporadic and 
have had little or no influence on the country as 
a whole. Most people who select books, even 
when a careful examination is made, think only 
of the specific problems presented by that sub- 
ject. The elements which are common to all 
books are important as well; for instance, in 
selecting a text in reading the general questions 
should be answered satisfactorily before an in- 
tensive study is made of the book. 

The outlines are put in the form of a score card 
under the four heads excellent, good, fair, and 
poor. The person examining the texts should 
check the items in the appropriate columns. 
At the end of the examination he is in a position 
to find which text scores highest. If one wishes, 
in addition, it is possible to weigh the different 
76 



STANDARDS FOR SELECTION 

elements. For example, it might be decided that 
a total of iooo points be given to a text. The 
headings might be considered: I, 50; II, 250; 
III, 600; IV, 100. The various subheads in each 
case could be assigned a score according to one's 
judgment of their relative values. The relative 
weight would depend wholly upon personal 
opinion. There would be no particular objection 
to the plan if one feels his choice would be better. 
Under most conditions the author feels that the 
method suggested in the outlines should be fol- 
lowed, as he has found by actual testing of the 
outlines that the results obtained in this way are 
more satisfactory. 



VII 

OUTLINE AIDS FOR JUDGING ALL TEXTS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


I. Publication: 
i. Title. 










2. Authors: 
A. Reputation. 










B. Authority. 










C. Other writings. 










3. Publisher: 
A. Reputation. 










B. General experi- 
ence. 










C. Experience in this 
field. 










4. Date of copyright: 
A. First edition. 










B. Revised edition, if 
any. 











78 



OUTLINE AIDS FOR JUDGING 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


II. Mechanical construc- 
tion: 
i. Size: 
A. Size of page. 










B. Number of pages. 










2. Shape. 










3. Binding: 
A. Paper. 










B. Cloth. 










C. Board. 










D. Leather. 










E. Durability. 










F. Attractiveness. 










4. Covers: 
A. Color. 










B. Decoration. 










5. Paper: 
A. Finish: 
a. Plain. 










b. Gloss. 











79 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


c. Dull. 










d. Tinted. 










B. Fiber: 
a. Heavy. 










b. Thin. 










C. Filled. 










6. Type: 
A. Kind. 










B. Size. 










C. Conform to the 
needs of different 
ages to avoid eye- 
strain. 










7. Spacing: 
A. Letters. 










v B. Words. 










C. Lines: 

a. Length — in ac- 
cordance with 
psychological 
investigation. 











80 



OUTLINE AIDS FOR JUDGING 



D. Paragraphs. 

8. Width of margins. 

II. Content: 

i. Meet needs of user. 

2. Purpose of author: 

A. Indicated by pref- 
ace. 

B. Developed in book. 

C. Consistent point 
of view. 

3. Exact scholarship. 

4. Vocabulary: 

A. Within compre- 
hension of stu- 
dents. 

B. Many new words 
introduced in each 
assignment. 

5. Style: clear, lucid. 

6. Treatment of topics 
in proportion to their 
importance. 

81 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair Poor 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



Excellent 



Good 



7. General treatment or 
particular phase of 
subject. 

8. Organization. 

9. Aids in use: 

A. Index. 

B. Table of contents. 

C. References: 

a. Selection. 

b. Representative 
or chosen with- 
out regard to 
value. 

D. Illustrations: 

a. Number. 

b. Representative. 

c. Clear. 

d. Purposeful. 

E. Maps, charts, dia- 
grams, and graphs: 
a. Use. 



82 



OUTLINE AIDS FOR JUDGING 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


b. Value. 










F. Suggestions as to 
methods of treat- 
ment: 

a. Teacher's man- 
ual. 










b. Suggestions in 
text. 










IV. Use: 

i. Grades to which best 
adapted. 










2. Adapted to course of 
study. 










3. Basic text. 










4. Supplementary text. 










5. Reference. 










6. Source material. 










7. Teacher's handbook. 











VIII 

SPECIAL OUTLINES FOR EVALUATING 
TEXTS IN DIFFERENT SUBJECTS 

Special outlines have been prepared for the 
examination of the principal subjects of study, 
both in the elementary and the high school. 
In a few cases the outlines cover a department 
rather than one subject. This has seemed 
advisable, owing to the fact that the general 
problems are very similar. Unfortunately, few 
discussions on teaching the various subjects give 
help to a person in choosing a textbook in a par- 
ticular subject. It would mean a better selection 
if the outline could be preceded by a discussion 
of the subject in its historical development, of 
the necessary modifications to meet present-day 
conditions, and also of the present tendencies in 
typical textbooks. It might seem that books on 
the teaching of various subjects should discuss 
essential factors in textbooks. Until such works 
are available outlines that will assist in a sys- 
tematic analysis of the contents of a text will be 
valuable. The pathologist who examines a cul- 
ture and finds the germs of tuberculosis is not 
84 



EVALUATING TEXTS 

concerned with the best mode of treatment for 
the patient from whom the culture has been 
taken. The best methods of treatment are 
considered either prior to the examination or 
they are a later outcome. In the selection of 
textbooks one decides what should be the out- 
come from this subject of study. After he has 
examined them he is in a position to select the 
one that seems to be most in harmony with his 
conception. 

In the preparation of the outlines it has been 
taken for granted that persons selecting books 
will have a basic knowledge, not only of the 
subject itself, but also of the problems in instruc- 
tion. The outlines aim to raise the pertinent 
questions that should receive attention when one 
examines the texts. Little attempt has been 
made to indicate the present tendency or the 
most desirable modes of procedure in the devel- 
opment of the subject. A brief statement has 
been made at the beginning of some of the out- 
lines calling attention to developments in the 
subject in recent years. The things that one 
may find in texts in the different subjects are 
called to mind in the outline, but no suggestion 
has been offered as to relative values. This 
would be of little worth had it been done, for 

85 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

one person may think a particular phase of 
subject-matter is important while an equally 
good authority may consider this same phase 
unimportant. The outlines should assist each 
of these persons in analyzing the contents of a 
book in an impartial way. After the contents 
are known a person making examination is in a 
position to know whether or not it meets his 
particular needs. 

1. Reading 

Reading occupies a preeminent position in the 
curriculum of the elementary school. It is just 
that it should have a prominent position, par- 
ticularly in the primary grades. The problems 
of teaching reading have been discussed at con- 
siderable length. There have been readers 
published to meet practically all possible points 
of view in developing the subject. In the selec- 
tion of texts the large problem is to adjust means 
to ends. 



86 



EVALUATING TEXTS 

Names of texts 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


I. Basic material: 
i. Stories. 










2. Mother Goose Rhymes. 










3. Action stories or sen- 
tences. 










4. Material chosen to il- 
lustrate phonic system. 










5. Irrelevant — lacking 
in definite purpose. 










6. Cumulative. 










7. Relative to child's ex- 
perience and environ- 
ment. 










II. Vocabulary: 

1. Total number of dif- 
ferent words. 










2. Vocabulary of each 
lesson easily found. 










3. Within comprehension 











87 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



of children at this 
stage of development. 

4. Words presented grad- 
ually. 

5. Table showing fre- 
quency of repetition 
of new words. 

6. Aids in getting pro- 
nunciation and mean- 
ing of new words: 

A. Given at end of 
selection. 

B. Classified list at 
end of book or in 
manual. 

7. Well graded. 

8. Progressive develop- 
ment in the different 
books of the series. 

III. Method: 

1. Thought. 

2. Story. • 



88 



EVALUATING TEXTS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


3. Sentence. 










4. Word. 










5. Phonic. 










6. Eclectic. 










7. Necessary adjuncts: 
A. Charts, cards, pic- 
tures, etc. 










;|B. Teacher's manual. 










8. Consistent develop- 
ment of theory. 










9. Formal element sub- 
ordinate to content. 










10. Provision for individ- 
ual differences. 










11. Help in form of ques- 

y tions at beginning or 

end of selections. 










IV. Illustrations: 

1. Appropriate, appeal 
to children. 











89 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


2. Artistic. 










3. Integral part of the 
material. 










4. Located in right posi- 
tion on page. 










V. Content: 

1. English masterpieces. 
A. Prose. 










B. Poetry. 










2. Writings of modern or 
present-day authors. 










3. Material that supple- 
ments work in other 
subjects, history, geo- 
graphy, art, etc. 










4. Appeal to grade for 
which intended. 










5. Appeal primarily to 
country or to city 
children. 










6. Duplicate what is al- 











90 



EVALUATING TEXTS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


ready in use or is ap- 
proximately new. 










VI. Distinctive elements in 
these books not found 
in others. 










i. Has the author ac- 
complished his aim as 
stated in the preface? 










2. Is a conscious pur- 
pose evident through- 
out the series. 










3. Does the series con- 
form to the best theo- 
ries of teaching read- 
ing? 











2. Arithmetic 

Arithmetic has received its share of attention 
in the movement for educational reform. The 
purpose of the subject has been analyzed, some 
traditional material has been eliminated, and 
the practical aspect of the subject has been 
emphasized. It is stiU considered one of the 
core subjects of the curriculum, even though in 

91 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

some quarters it has lost prestige. Textbooks 
in this subject need careful scrutiny to see if they 
have the desired point of view, and if the subject- 
matter is consistently developed to realize the 
aim. 



Names of texts. 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


I. Point of View: 
i. Mental training. 










2. Social efficiency. 










II. Organization of subject- 
matter: 

i. Topics developed log- 
ically and psycho- 
logically: 

A. Development topi- 
cal, spiral, or cumu- 
lative. 










2. Nature of the prob- 
lem material: 
A. Amount. 










B. Practical. 










C. Conform to busi- 
ness practice. 











92 



EVALUATING TEXTS 



D. Within experience 
of children at this 
stage of develop- 
ment. 

E. Properly graded. 

F. Provision for indi- 
vidual differences. 

G. Economy of time. 

H. Language clear, 
concise, non-tech- 
nical, easily under- 
stood, correspond 
to vocabulary of 
readers. 

I. Proper attention 
to thrift and oth- 
er important eco- 
nomic principles 
best taught in 
arithmetic. 

3. Drill material: 

A. Adequate. 

B. Practical. 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



93 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



C. Prepared with re- 
sults of standard 
tests in mind. 

D. Variety. 

E. Provision for moti- 
vation. 

F. Provision for indi- 
vidual and group 
differences. 

4. Attention to business 
forms: 

A. Simple accounts. 

B. Experience with 
checks, drafts, re- 
ceipts and other 
common business 
forms. 

5. Preparation for other 
mathematics: 

A. Use of equation. 

B. Purpose of equa- 
tion. 

C. Use and purpose of 
graphs. 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



94 



EVALUATING TEXTS 



D. Construction. 

6. Elimination: 

A. Basis. 

B. Topics. 

C. In accordance with 
recommendations 
of committee on 
economy of time. 

III. Methods of presenta- 
tion: 

i. Inductive — princi- 
ples evolved. 

2. Deductive — princi- 
ples given. 

3. Suggestions for use of 
local data. 

4. Use of objective ma- 
terial. 

5. Suggestions for teach- 
ing topics. 

6. Other teaching helps. 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



95 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


7. Answer book for 
teachers, separate 
pamphlet for stu- 
dents, answers bound 
in book. 










8. Influence of standard 
tests apparent. 










9. Emphasis upon de- 
velopment of fun- 
damental habits of 
estimating answers, 
checking results, etc. 










10. Training in inde- 
„ . pendence of paper 
\ and pencil — mental 
work. 











3. Language 

The expression side of language is constantly 
emphasized. The relative importance of oral 
versus written is a subject of perennial discus- 
sion. Both forms are necessary and important. 
The inculcation of correct language habits is one 
of the great problems of the classroom teacher. 
96 



EVALUATING TEXTS 

The present tendency is to emphasize the func- 
tional viewpoint rather than the structural. Ex- 
perimental studies have shattered the faith of 
many people in the efficacy of formal grammar 
as a subject of study in the elementary school. 
Language rather than grammar should be stressed 
if desired results are to accrue. Many texts are 
available. Careful examination is needful if a 
wise choice is made. 



Names of texts 








Excellent 


Good- 


Fair 


Poor 


I. Purpose: 

i. To teach correct lan- 
guage through use. 










2. To teach correct lan- 
guage through rules 
or principles. 










II. Nature of material: 
i. Representation of a 
wide range of inter- 
ests; i.e., stories, po- 
ems, dramatization, 
pictures, etc. 










2. Selected from stand- 
point of children's in- 











97 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



terests, needs, and 
capacities. 

3. Stimulates ideas. 

4. Stimulates the imag- 
ination. 

5. Emphasizes the ele- 
ment of classical in 
literature. 

6. Drawn from other 
subjects; i.e., history, 
geography, etc. 

7. Vocational or written 
with a specific pur- 
pose in view. 

8. Content subordi- 
nated to form; i.e., 
selected to bring out 
principles. 

9. Original — prepared 
by the author. 

10. Formal — emphasis 
on the technical side. 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



98 



EVALUATING TEXTS 



ii. Provision for build- 
ing vocabulary. 

III. Method of treatment: 
i. Opportunities given 
for expression: 

A. Oral. 

B. Written. 

• C. Proportion be- 
tween these two 
well balanced. 

2. Provision for motiva- 
tion. 

3. Expression in con- 
ventional form em- 
phasized. 

4. Emphasis on drill 
to habituate correct 
forms. 

5. Principles developed 
from need. 

6. Provision made to 
emphasize the princi- 
ples most frequently 
violated. 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



99 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


7. Provision for individ- 
ual differences. 










8. Evidence that the 
author has been influ- 
enced by the recent 
investigations of the 
subject. 










9. Formal grammar em- 
phasized or treated 
incidentally. 










10. Consistent nomen- 
clature — use the 
"new" nomencla- 
ture recommended 
by N. E. A. 










11. Adequate provision 
for different types of 
language work; e.g., 
narration, descrip- 
tion, etc. 











4. Spelling 

There has been a marked interest in the teach- 
ing of this subject in recent years. It has re- 
ceived much attention by educational investiga- 
tors. The influence of these investigations has 
100 



EVALUATING TEXTS 

been reflected in the spelling-books published 
in the past three years. We have a more ac- 
curate knowledge of what material is actually- 
used by children, and also the difficulties in 
teaching the material in this subject than we 
have in any other in the curriculum. People 
whose duty it is to select spelling-books should 
be familiar with these studies. 



Names of texts. 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


I. Number of Words: 
i. Total number. 










2. Number for each 
year. 










3. Table showing per- 
centage of words 
in various scientific 
lists. 










II. Source of Words: 

1. Selected on basis of 
needs through inves- 
tigation: 

A. Investigation ex- 
haustive, as repre- 
sented by Ander- 
son, Ayres, Jones, 








1 



IOI 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



Cook, O'Shea, and 
Kansas City. 

B. Investigation su- 
perficial. 

2. Selected on basis of 
opinion of what needs 
should be. 

3. Selected from other 
spellers without any 
underlying purpose 
apparent. 

4. Provision for making 
lists dependent on 
individual needs. 

III. Suggestions as to meth- 
ods of presentation: 

1. Suggestions helpful 
to teacher. 

2. Suggestions as to the 
division of period be- 
tween teaching and 
testing. 

3. In accordance with 
present day knowl- 



Excellent 



Good 



I02 



EVALUATING TEXTS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


edge of the pedagogy 
of spelling: 
A. Appeal to different 
ideational types. 








B. Careful pronuncia- 
tion. 










C. Syllabication. 










D. Emphasis on par- 
ticular difficulties. 










E. Suggestions on 
method of deter- 
mining difficulty 
of words. 










F. Gradation of words. 










G. Provision for re- 
view in accordance 
with psychology of 
forgetting. 










.Rules: 
A. Use. 










B. Value of those 
given. 










5. Idea made promi- 











103 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



nent that spelling is 
a subject to be taught 
not merely tested. 

6. Use of dictionary en- 
couraged. 

7. Number of new words 
to be presented at 
each lesson. 

8. Any suggested meth- 
ods of application to 
test efficiency of teach- 
ing. 

9. Methods of testing: 

A. Spelling of isolated 
words. 

B. Spelling of words 
in dictated sen- 
tences or para- 
graphs. 

C. Spelling of words 
in original compo- 
sition. 

D. Spelling of words 
in reference to 
standard tests. 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



104 



EVALUATING TEXTS 

5. Geography 

There has been a marked change in the attitude 
toward this subject in recent years. The rela- 
tionship idea has become prominent. The con- 
ception of a textbook in geography as a mere 
atlas is no longer sufficient. The modern text in 
this subject does credit to the makers of books. 
Owing to the cost of publication there is not a 
multiplicity of texts from which to choose as in 
most other subjects. This fact makes possible an 
extensive examination without great effort. 



Names of texts 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


I. Point of View: 

i. Relationship idea 
prominent. Response 
of man to his environ- 
ment considered the 
essence of the subject. 










2. Information the end 
point. 










3. Physical features or 
life of the people the 
starting point in the 
first book. 











105 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



II. Organization of mate- 
rial: 
i. Logical: 

The point of view of 
the scientific geogra- 
pher; i.e., mathemati- 
cal, physical, politi- 
cal, industrial. 

2. Psychological: 
Organized from the 
point of view of the 
interests, capacities, 
and needs of the un- 
developed children. 

3. Organization with a 
definite purpose: 

A. Facts about the 
earth and its in- 
habitants corre- 
lated. 

B. Good paragraphs 
and topical unity. 

4. Number of books in 
series. 

5. Difference in treat- 



Excellent 



Good 



I06 



EVALUATING TEXTS 



ment in the books of 
the series. 

III. Type of treatment: 

i. Topics treated in 
large units with many 
supporting details; 
that is, the type 
treatment. 

2. Suggestions for prob- 
lem study. 

3. Interesting informa- 
tion given in an inter- 
esting way rather than 
a mere list of facts. 

4. Attention to relative 
values based on im- 
portance. 

5. Sailor or location geo- 
graphy emphasized. 

6. Use of devices such as 
graphs to make state- 
ments emphatic. 

IV. Reliability of material: 

1 . Accuracy of statement . 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



IO7 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


2. Latest available in- 
formation utilized. 






3. Explicit statement of 
the year in statistics, 
etc. 










4. Maps accurate. 










V. Accessories: 
1. Maps: 
Different kinds, phys- 
ical, relief, regional, 
political, commercial, 
and industrial. 










2. Illustrations: 
A. Sufficient in num- 
ber. 










B. Well chosen, repre- 
sentative in char- 
acter to give cor- 
rect ideas. 










C. Well engraved. 










3. Statistics. 










4. Indexes. 










5. References. 











108 



EVALUATING TEXTS 



6. History 

If, as it has been said, the purpose of history is to 
develop the imagination, in order to see the past 
in the present, textbooks in this subject are 
difficult to write. The content must be carefully 
selected to see the past in true perspective. 
Language must be employed to make the content 
vital. The author must be able to select subject- 
matter in the light of relative values. Text- 
books that will create an abiding interest in the 
subject are the goal toward which we should 
strive in making a selection. 



Names of texts 












Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


I. Type of book: 

i. Skeleton outline of 
topics. 










2. Outline partially de- 
veloped. 










3. Topics sufficiently de- 
veloped to be intelli- 
gible without further 
supplementing. 










II. Material: 

1. Accuracy of statement: 











109 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



Author a recognized 
authority of the gen- 
eral subject or in a 
special field. 



2. Scientific 
ment. 



develop- 



3. Definiteness and clear 
presentation. 

4. Concreteness of state- 
ment, sufficiently sup- 
plemented. 

5. Point of view: 

A. Presentation of 
conflicting opin- 
ions. 

B, Author's judgment 
fair or biased. 

6. Emphasis on war or 
on social and indus- 
trial development. 

7. Emphasis on things 
national, internation- 
al, development of an 
intelligent patriotism. 



Excellent 



Good 



IIO 



EVALUATING TEXTS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


8. Evidence of special 
interest on the part of 
author. 










9. Number of pages an in- 
dication of the proper 
presentation of topic. 










10. Exaggerated state- 
ments of topics. 










11. Written in style to 
develop imagination, 
or statement of facts 
without literary em- 
bellishment. 










12. Biographical treat- 
ment prominent. 










13. Would the book as 
a whole tend to cre- 
ate an abiding inter- 
est in the subject? 










III. Aids to understanding: 
1. Illustrations. 










2. Indexes. 










3. References. 











III 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

7. Civics 

The purpose of civics should be to make the 
students appreciate the qualities of a good citi- 
zen; to understand the duties that devolve upon 
a good citizen, and to develop in him an un- 
quenchable desire to live the life of a good citizen. 
Such purposes will not be attained through a 
study of the forms or machinery of government. 
The student must understand the functions of 
government; what his responsibilities are; and 
be given an opportunity to realize them in his 
present life. This means that civics must be 
correlated with school life in all phases of as- 
sociations that the pupils enjoy. An abstract 
discussion of the qualifications for the members 
of Congress and an enumeration of the duties of 
the Secretary of State will not necessarily help 
the student to perform the responsibilities that 
devolve upon him as a citizen. 

The selection of a textbook in civics needs 
careful attention to see that the treatment of 
the form and structure of government does not 
obliterate the discussion of the essential qualities 
of citizenship. 



112 



EVALUATING TEXTS 



Names of texts . 



I. Point of View: 

i. Teach knowledge of 
form and structure of 
government. 

2. Show the functions of 
government. 

3. Present elements of 
good citizenship 
through concrete il- 
lustrations. 

II. Content: 

1. The relationship that 
students understand 
given most impor- 
tance. 

2. Need of government 
based on students' 
own experience. 

3. Principles of govern- 
ment an outgrowth 
of situations; or do 
the illustrations fol- 
low the presentation 
of principles? 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



113 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



4. Portion of the text 
given to machinery 
of government. 

5. Written in interest- 
ing, attractive man- 
ner, accompanied 
by illustrations that 
would make the 
point more vivid. 

6. Stimulate pupils to 
form school organiza- 
tions. 

7. Any suggestions for 
such organizations. 

III. Organization: 

1. Function of govern- 
ment central idea. 

2. Development from 
national government 
to local or from the 
local to the national. 

3. Interests or needs of 
students the start- 
ing-point. 



Excellent 



Good 



114 



EVALUATING TEXTS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


4. Deviation from or- 
ganization for the 
purpose of making 
more realistic. 










5. Constitution of the 
United States in ap- 
pendix. 











8. Drawing 

This subject is one of the infants of the curricu- 
lum. For this reason its place is not always 
clearly denned. In a few cases its younger 
brothers and sisters have developed more lus- 
tily; consequently, the line of demarcation be- 
tween drawing and industrial arts is not al- 
ways seen. A textbook does not play such an 
important part in the teaching of the subject as 
in the traditional ones. However, most school 
systems use textbooks and their selection needs 
the same careful analysis that is demanded of 
other books. 



ii5 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



Names of texts. 



I. Purpose: 

i, To establish stand- 
ards of appreciation 
in expression. 

2. To furnish examples 
for inspiration in at- 
taining standards. 

II. Organization of sub- 
ject-matter: 
i. Organized from the 
standpoint of the 
child's interests and 
within his capacity. 

2. Content of balanced 
proportions: 

A. Appearance draw- 
ing: 

a. Correct form. 

b. Sufficient em- 
phasis on value 
and perspective. 

B. Design: 

a. Adaptation to 
construction 



Excellent 



Good 



116 



EVALUATING TEXTS 



and to facto- 
ry products of 
common usage. 

C. Color: 

a. Examples for 
basis of appre- 
ciation of the 
environment. 

b. Good selection of 
factory products. 

c. Opportunity for 
application to 
school problems. 

D. Mechanical 
Drawing. 

a. Relation to con- 
struction. 

III. Use: 

i. Guide for teachers. 

2. Suggestive for pu- 
pils. 

3. Arbitrary text for 
pupils. 



Excellent 



Good- 



Fair 



Poor 



117 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

9. Music 

A school system that does not have music 
taught as an integral part of the curriculum in the 
elementary school is quite the exception. It 
has required a long period of time to work out a 
consistent theory of teaching this subject in the 
schools. This would be expected because of the 
nature of the subject itself and because the earlier 
teachers had their attention focused on technique 
rather than on the problem of presentation. 
Much progress has been made in the theory of 
teaching the subject. The publishers have aided 
greatly in this movement, and the excellency of 
the textbooks in music is no less to-day than in 
the traditional subjects. 



Names of texts. 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


I. Aims: 

i. The social unity in 
the schoolroom. 










2. Develop through self- 
expression. 










3. Coordination with 
other subjects. 











118 



EVALUATING TEXTS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


4. Intelligent and ap- 
preciative music- 
lovers. 










5. Formation of cor- 
rect vocal habits. 










II. Song Material: 
1. Source: 
A. From the old mas- 
ters, from the great 
living composers or 
from folk songs. 










2. Variety in the ma- 
terial: 

A. Rhythmic in con- 
tent. 










B. Music and words 
coordinate. 










C. Texts with na- 
tional sentiment 
intelligently se- 
lected. 










III. Basis for Organization: 
1. Appeal to the interest 
of children in the va- 
rious grades. 











119 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



2. Rote songs based on 
melodic memory. 

3. Note reading coordi- 
nated with observa- 
tion songs. 

4. Adapted to the range 
of voices. 

5. Technical problems 
presented in the ob- 
servation songs. 

6. Musical phrase, with 
cumulative repeti- 
tion, used as basis of 
reading music. 

7. Comparison with ap- 
proved methods of 
teaching the reading 
of English. 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



10. Penmanship 

A system of writing, when adopted for a school 
system, presents problems slightly different from 
those of most other subjects. One of the great- 
est handicaps to efficient teaching of the sub- 
120 



EVALUATING TEXTS 

ject has been the failure to analyze the prob- 
lems, and to know what could and what should 
be accomplished. In other words, there have 
been no definite standards of attainment. The 
scientific studies to measure results and to set 
up standards of attainment have been fruitful of 
much good. Perhaps no subject in the curricu- 
lum has profited more by such studies in edu- 
cation than has penmanship. In selecting a 
system attention needs to be given to the fun- 
damental factors of speed and legibility. Free- 
man has analyzed these elements from a psy- 
chological point of view. His work should be 
familiar to all teachers of the subject. Perhaps 
the greatest problem in the adoption of any of 
the well-known systems that are available to-day 
will be to instruct teachers how to be efficient 
teachers of this art. 



Names of texts , 



—9 ■ 


Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


I. Point of View: 

i. Develop legibility in 
all stages. 










2. Develop correct form 
with little emphasis 











121 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



on execution in first 
stages. 

3. Develop form, legibil- 
ity, and speed harmo- 
niously. 

II. Development: 

1. Attention given to 
form — correct posi- 
tion, holding pen, 
etc. 

2. Free arm movement 
introduced at first. 

3. Provision for large 
writing in primary 
grades. 

4. Letters developed 
consistently. 

5. Organization of exer- 
cises logical. 

6. Mastery of material 
present progressive 
difficulties. 

7. Movement drills pre- 



Excellent 



Good 



122 



EVALUATING TEXTS 



cede writing of words 
• and sentences. 

8. Writing material have 
meaning in itself. 

9. Writing material 
merely used for appli- 
cation of principles. 

III. Results: 

1. Adequate provision 
for drill: 

A. Drill motivated. 

B. Conducted in ac- 
cordance with re- 
cent psychological 
investigations. 

V .C. Provision for indi- 
, vidual differences. 

2. Standards of attain- 
ment: 

A. Use of standard 
scales encouraged. 

B. Proper standards 
for speed, legibil- 
ity, etc., indicated. 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



123 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


3. Suggestions for diag- 
nosing difficulties and 
for improvement. 










4. Instruction for teach- 
ers worked out in de- 
tail. 











11. Algebra 

There are certain mooted questions as to the 
purpose of algebra. The purpose has been con- 
ceived by some teachers to be the disciplining of 
the mind — whatever that may mean; by some 
to be the preparation of students for higher 
mathematics; by some to be the training of 
students to use algebraic formulas in solving 
problems and interpreting equations that are 
beyond the ability of a person without this knowl- 
edge. In other words, it has been considered to 
be disciplinary, preparatory, or practical. The 
point of view, the introduction to the subject, 
the development of topics and their relative em- 
phasis demand much attention in the selection 
of a book. 



124 



EVALUATING TEXTS 

Names of texts 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


I. Point of View: 
i. Mental training. 










2. Basis for advanced 
mathematics. 










3. Practical application 
in other fields. 










II. Development: 

1. Through abstract 
symbolism. 










2. Emphasis upon trans- 
lation of formula. 










* 3. Through equation and 
graphs. 










4. Topically following 
the conventional form ; 
i.e., addition, subtrac- 
tion, etc. 










5. Topic rationalized be- 
fore habituation is 
expected. 











125 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


III. Problem Material: 

i. Sensible — having 
reality. 










2. Based upon further 
needs. 








4 


3. Puzzle type. 










4. Language — clear and 
direct without ambi- 
guity. 










5. Adequate. 










6. Represent applica- 
tion of principles. 










7. Provision for indi- 
vidual differences. 










IV. Drill Material: 
1. Representative. 










2. Adequate. 










3. Varied. 










4. Given immediately 
) after the develop- 
ment of principle or a 











126 



EVALUATING TEXTS 



Excellent Good 



Fair 



Poor 



modified spiral meth- 
od used. 

5. Based upon scientific 
evidence. 



12. Geometry 

Geometry has been considered the subject par 
excellence to develop cogent reasoners. Few 
subjects in our schools are more hidebound by 
tradition. A new type of book in high-school 
mathematics has made its appearance. Its 
status at present is difficult to estimate. The 
traditional type of geometry still prevails in most 
schools, and while practically all the books in 
the subject follow the same general plan, there 
are a sufficient number of vital differences to 
warrant a careful examination of texts before 
making a choice. 



Names of texts 










Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


I. Point of View: 
1. Mental training. 








2. Practical value. 











127 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


II. Development: 

i. Formal and conver- 
sational. 










2. Inventional — con- 
struction the starting 
point. 










3. Attempt to prove rig- 
orously self-evident 
propositions. 










4. Reasons stated. 










5. Students requested to 
find reason for step. 










6. Related to other 
branches of mathe- 
matics. 










7. Related to needs of 
different groups. 










8. Attempt to make it 
more attractive by 
giving historic and 
biographic notes of 
great mathemati- 
cians. 











128 



EVALUATING TEXTS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


III. Original Exercises: 

i. Number in compari- 
son to theorems. 










2. Given as application 
when theorems are 
presented. 










3. Given at end of chap- 
ter. 










4. Given at end of book. 










5. Practical application. 










6. Provision for individ- 
ual differences. 











13. Science 

The sciences receive much attention in every 
well-equipped high school. Few subjects have 
played a greater part in developing our present- 
day civilization. Science teaching has not al- 
ways kept abreast of the discoveries in the field. 
However, it has changed its emphasis from the 
pursuit of the subject for its own sake to its 
application in the solution of everyday problems. 
The textbook should inculcate a scientific atti- 
tude of mind. 

129 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



Names of texts. 



I. Attitude: 

i. Knowledge as an end 
in itself. 

2. Value of knowledge 
found in its applica- 
tion. 

II. Content: 
i. Abstract. 

2. Information that will 
be of practical value. 

3. Organization from 
viewpoint of ad- 
vanced scientist. 

4. Organization from 
viewpoint of practi- 
cal needs of novice. 

5. Language: 

A. Technical. 

B. Popular. 

C. Clear, concise, 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



130 



EVALUATING TEXTS 



forcible, interest- 
ing. 

6. Illustrations: 

A. Adequate. 

B. Representative. 

7. Project work basis 
for science; such as, 
agriculture, nature 
study, household eco- 
nomics, etc. 

8. Information accu- 
rate — modern — 
make use of most re- 
cent discoveries and 
acceptances of latest 
theories of best au- 
thorities. 

III. Laboratory Exercises: 

1. Kind. 

2. Amount. 

3. Separate manual. 

4. Suggestion as to use. 

5. In accordance with 
scientific method. 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



131 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

14. Foreign Languages 

The most fundamental problem in the selection 
of textbooks in foreign languages will be the 
attitude of the author toward the approach to 
the language. The controlling aims of the school 
system will govern the choice in this particular. 
The vocabulary, amount of grammar, and the 
nature of the material in the basic texts demand 
careful investigation. The selection of the read- 
ing matter should be governed in the early years 
by the interest of the pupils, the purpose of the 
course, and the method of teaching. 



Names of texts. 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


I. Approach to Language: 
i. Grammar — indi- 
rect. 










2. Conversation — di- 
rect. 










3. Combination of the 
two. 










II. Vocabulary: 

1. Number of words in 
the first book. 











132 



EVALUATING TEXTS 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



2. Number of new 
words in each lesson. 

3. Amount of repeti- 
tion. 

4. New vocabulary at 
the end of each les- 
son. 

5. Ratio of new words 
in each lesson con- 
sistent. 

6. Vocabulary that will 
give a foundation for 
conversation or for 
reading classics. 

7. Opportunity to use in 
discourse. 

8. Illustrations used as 
a basis for conversa- 
tion. 

9. Influence of studies 
by Lodge, Brown, etc. 

III. Grammar: 

1. Development from 



133 



THE SELECTION OF TEXTBOOKS 



Excellent 



Good 



Fair 



Poor 



A. Standpoint 
need. 



of 



B. Logical structure. 

2. Exhaustive treat- 
ment or enough to 
meet needs of high- 
school pupils. 

3. Application of prin- 
ciples. 

4. Provide for motiva- 
tion. 

5. Adequate provisions 
for repetition of 
forms. 

6. Summary of inflec- 
tions at the end of 



a 



the book. 



I 7. Create a desire for 
continuation of the 
study of the lan- 
guage. 

IV. Methods: 

1. Per cent of time given 



134 



EVALUATING TEXTS 





Excellent 


Good 


Fair 


Poor 


to use of the new lan- 
guage instead of Eng- 
lish. 










2. Provision for training 
the ear. 










3. Provision for prac- 
tice in speaking the 
language. 










4. Provision for training 
in writing a letter. 










5. Suggestions for im- 
proving the teaching 
of the language. 











OUTLINE 

I. THE TEXTBOOK A NECESSARY TOOL IN 
TEACHING 

i. The textbook is an accepted tool i 

2. The effect of the multiplicity of texts 2 

3. The text as a source of necessary data 4 

4. It presents a definite organization of material. . 5 

5. It is a means of selecting pertinent subject- 
matter. 5 

6. It is a basis for elaboration 6 

7. It is an aid in raising and solving problems 6 

8. The influence of textbook publishers and authors 7 

9. The teacher economizes time and energy through 
the textbook 12 

II. THE COMMON BASIS FOR SELECTION 
OF TEXTS 

1. Considerations which have operated in textbook 
adoptions 14 

2. The prestige of the author 15 

3. The prestige of tire publisher 17 

4. The efficiency of the sales force 18 

5. The general appearance of the textbook 19 

6. The wide use of a text 20 

7. The cost of a text 21 

8. The above considerations are minor. 23 

III. CURRENT METHODS OF SELECTING 
TEXTBOOKS 

i. Effective selection depends upon the agency em- _. 

ployed 24 

2. Selection of textbooks by board members 24 

'3. Selection by the superintendent. 27 

136 



OUTLINE 

4. Cooperative selection by superintendent and 
teaching force 29 

5. Plans used in cooperative selection 30 

a. Principals secure judgment of teachers. 

b. Committee of teachers. 

c. Tests in representative schools. 

6. Advantages in cooperative selection 32 

IV. METHOD AND TERM OF ADOPTION AS 

A FACTOR 

1. The arguments favorable to the State as a unit 

for adoption 34 

2. The disadvantages of State adoption 35 

3. The arguments for and against county adoption. . 40 

4. District adoption — advantages and disadvan- 
tages 41 

5. The supervisory unit is theoretically the best 
unit of adoption 42 

6. The terms of State adoptions range from four to 
eight years 42 

7. Requirements usually made in State adoption. . 44 

V. FREE TEXTBOOKS VERSUS INDIVIDUAL 

OWNERSHIP AS A FACTOR 

1. The development of the free textbook move- 
ment 45 

2. Arguments in favor of school-owned books 46 

3 . Arguments in favor of individually owned books 50 

4. Public decision largely a matter of political phi- 
losophy 55 

VI. JUSTIFIABLE STANDARDS FOR SELEC- 

TION 

1. The lack of justifiable standards for the selection 
of texts 57 

137 



OUTLINE 

2. Educational standards now utilized for other 
evaluations 57 

,5. Standardization outside of education 58 

4. Standards for evaluating and selecting texts are 
essential 59 

5. Examination by a competent committee 61 

5. The necessity for the committee to have a guide . 62 
7. Necessary standards for selection 62 

a. Standards applied to content and organi- 

zation. 

(1) The specific purpose of the book. 

(2) Purpose indicated by statement in 
the preface. 

(3) Accuracy and reliability of material. 
'4) Freedom from bias and dogmatism. 

(5) Relative values should receive due 
consideration. 

(6) Scientific studies in education should 
influence content. 

(7) Illustrations. 
-» -iS) Aids in use. 

b. Standards of secondary importance. 

(1) Reputation of author. 

(2) Reputation of publisher. 

(3) Date of copyright. 

c. Standards as to the form of the book. 

(1) General appearance. 

(2) Binding. 

(3) Material of which the book is made. 

(4) Type. 

(5) Size of the book. 

J. The importance of careful analysis before inten- 
sive study of the specific subject 76 

138 



OUTLINE 

VII. OUTLINE AIDS FOR JUDGING ALL 
TEXTS 

i. Publication 78 

2. Mechanical construction 79 

3. Content 81 

4. Use 83 

VIII. SPECIAL OUTLINES FOR EVALUATING 
TEXTS IN DIFFERENT SUBJECTS 

1. Reading 86 

2. Arithmetic 91 

3. Language 96 

4. Spelling 100 

5. Geography 105 

6. History 109 

7. Civics 112 

8. Drawing 115 

9. Music 118 

10. Penmanship 120 

11. Algebra 124 

12. Geometry 127 

13. Science 129 

14. Foreign Languages 132 



RIVERSIDE EDUCATIONAL MONOGRAPHS 

Edited by HENRY SUZZALLO 

Andress's The Teaching of Hygiene in the Grades 

Atwood's The Theory and Practice of the Kindergarten 

BaUey's Art Education 

Betts's New Ideals in Rural Schools 

Betts's The Recitation 

Bloomfield's Vocational Guidance of Youth 

Cabot's Volunteer Help to the Schools 

Campagnac's The Teaching of Composition 

Cole's Industrial Education in Elementary Schools 

Cooley's Language Teaching in the Grades 

Cubberley's Changing Conceptions of Education 

Cubberley's The Improvement of Rural Schools 

Dewey's Interest and Effort in Education 

Dewey's Moral Principles in Education 

Dooley's The Education of the Ne'er-Do-Well 

Ear hart's Teaching Children to Study 

Eliot's Education for Efficiency 

Eliot's Concrete and Practical in Modern Education 

Emerson's Education 

Evans's The Teaching of High School Mathematics 

Fairchild's The Teaching of Poetry in the High School 

Fiske's The Meaning of Infancy 

Freeman's The Teaching of Handwriting 

Haliburton and Smith's Teaching Poetry in the Grades 

Hartwell's The Teaching of History 

Haynes's Economics in the Secondary Schools 

Hill's The Teaching of Civics 

Home's The Teacher as Artist 

Hyde's The Teacher's Philosophy 

Jenkins's Reading in the Primary Grades 

Judd's The Evolution of a Democratic School System 

Kendall and Stryker's History in the Elementary Grades 

Kilpatrick's The Montessori System Examined 

Leonard's English Composition as a Social Problem 

Lewis's Democracy's High School 

Maxwell's The Observation of Teaching 

Maxwell's The Selection of Textbooks 

Meredith's The Educational Bearings of Modern Psychology 

Palmer's Ethical and Moral Instruction in the Schools 

Palmer's Self-Cultivation in English 

Palmer's The Ideal Teacher 

Palmer's Trades and Professions 

Perry's Status of the Teacher 

Prosser's The Teacher and Old Age 

Russell's Economy in Secondary Education 

Smith's Establishing Industrial Schools 

Snedden's The Problem of Vocational Educatiou 

Stockton's Project Work in Education 

Suzzallo's The Teaching of Primary Arithmetic 

Suzzallo's The Teaching of Spelling 

Swift's Speech Defects in School Children 

Terman's The Teacher's Health 

Thorndike's Individuality 

Trowbridge's The Home School 

Tuell's The Study of Nations 

Weeks's The People's School 

33^ 



VOCATIONAL PREPARATION 

The Vocational Guidance of Youth, by Meyer 
Bloompield 

A monograph by the former Director of the Vocation Bureau of 
Boston. 

Youth, School, and Vocation, by Meyer Bloompield 

A first-hand presentation of the meaning and work of the voca- 
tional guidance movement. 

Choosing a Vocation, by Frank Parsons 

This book is an indispensable manual for every vocational coun- 
selor. 

The. Problem of Vocational Education, by David 
Snedden 

The author is one of the leaders in the movement for the closer adap- 
tation of public schools to the actual needs of youth. 

Prevocational Education, by Frank M. Leavitt and 
Edith Brown 

The first authoritative book to tell how the public schools may pre- 
pare pupils to select wisely the work to which they are best adapted. 

The People's School, by Ruth Mary Weeks 

A statement regarding the vocational training movement in this 
country and abroad. 

Vocations for Girls, by Mary A. Laselle andKATHE- 
rine Wiley 

Information as to conditions of work and the opportunities in the 
more common vocations open to girls with only a high-school edu- 
cation. 

The Home School, by Ada Wilson Trowbridge 

An account of a unique and successful experiment in teaching 
practical household economics. 

Vocational Education, by David Snedden, Ruth 
Mary Weeks, and Ellwood P. Cubberley 

A combination of three volumes from the Riverside Educational 
Monographs treating different phases of vocational education, — 
theory, administration, and practice. 

Principles and Methods of Industrial Education, by 

WlLLIAM H. DOOLEY 

This is a book for use in teacher training classes. There is an In- 
troduction by Charles A. Prosser. 

Industrial Education, by Albert H. Leake 

A study and criticism of the opportunities provided for the educa- 
tion of the industrial worker. 

Establishing Industrial Schools, by Harry Bradley 
Smith 

A practical discussion of the steps to be taken in establishing indus- 
trial schools. 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

1930 



y 






1 



